Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – September 26, 1982

Early in the morning I went to Dr. Shirazi's dental clinic. From six-thirty until ten, he worked on several of my teeth. I went to Parliament late, and some of the visitors had already left. A group of people from Ghahderijan came and complained about Ghahderijan's separation and its annexation to Najafabad, and about changing the name of Lower Lenjan to Falavarjan. It was decided that they would not create a disturbance, and I would ask the Minister of Interior to pay attention to their demands.

A group of bazaar merchants came and complained about the government's strict policies, which they said were leading to reduced exports. Mr. Haj Moeini Najafabadi complained about the arrest of his son-in-law. I asked Mr. [Mohammad Mohammadi] Reyshahri, who informed me that he was accused of fraud in an arms deal, and it was decided that the matter would be investigated. Recently, a group has been arrested on this charge.

Mr. Tahmasbi Taleb, who has a talent for invention and is working in Isfahan on developing advanced weapons, came and reported on his work. I gave him five hundred thousand tomans from Parliament's war assistance fund. He said he was working on manufacturing parts for the F-14, and because of the lack of these parts, a number of aircraft had been grounded. If he succeeds, it will be an important achievement.

A group of underprivileged people from Ilam and members of the Islamic Students' Associations came, and I gave them a speech. Parliament employees also came, and I gave them a speech as well. A group of pharmacists came and opposed the bill allowing prescription dispensers to establish pharmacies, which had recently been introduced in Parliament. Many people oppose it.

In the afternoon, Colonel [Bahram] Afzali, the Navy commander, came and gave a report on the defense plan against Iraqi missile attacks on ships bound for Bandar Imam. He complained about the harsh letter from Mr. [Alimohammad] Besharati, a member of Parliament, and he was right. Mr. Jalili, a cleric from Kermanshah who had recently been accused in the Qom court, came seeking help. Mr. [Gholamabbas] Zare, the resigned Deputy Minister of Interior, came and complained that he had been falsely accused of belonging to the Hojjatieh Society and was being prevented from working. I reassured him.

I attended the meeting of the Party's Central Council. The bylaws were discussed, as well as how to deal with the Freedom Movement, which has written me an open letter. They are planning to give a speech at the Movement's headquarters on Eid al-Adha.

Then, together with the other heads of the three branches of government and my brother Mohammad, we consulted about the future plans for the national radio and television organization, the Supervisory Council, and the Cultural Council.

Mohammad spoke about technical progress and explained that within two years we would cover two-thirds of the Third World and broadcast one hundred and eight hours of international programming per day, and he announced our need for content and cultural assistance.

Mr. [Mir-Hossein] Mousavi informed us that the Assembly of Banks and the Supreme Economic Council agreed with eliminating interest.

Late at night I returned home. The children were asleep. I ate dinner and went to sleep. I read a report from the interrogation team investigating the Prime Minister's Office bombing suspects. Based on conjecture and analysis of the evidence, they had accused a number of officials, which in my opinion is not correct.