Akbar Hashemi's Memoirs - January 19, 2002

After the dissolution of the Tehran City Council, today [Mr. Abdolvahid Mousavilari], the Minister of Interior, [Mr. Mohammad Hassan Malekmadani], also dismissed the mayor and appointed Mr. [Mohammad Hossein] Moqemi to head the Tehran Municipality.

The United States has lowered the war drumbeat and is talking about the possibility of resolving the issue without war...

Full text of the daily:

Mr. [Gholamreza] Forouzesh, [a member of the Tehran City Council], came and said that he had practically resigned two months ago due to the problems in the work of the Tehran City Council; because they were not taking positive action. He gave explanations about OPEC's successes. There was talk about activating the Africa Foundation.
Messrs. [Mohsen] Nourbakhsh and [Eshaq] Jahangiri came. They said, those who wrote to the leadership and were reprimanded by the president and the speaker of the parliament after the leaders’ meeting, some of them think that you said to reprimand them. They said about the bad state of the 2003 budget.
Mr. [Hossein] Qasemi, CEO of the [Free Zone Organization] of Kish, came. He gave a report on the measures and asked me to go to Kish during the Eid holidays. Messrs. [Seyed Reza] Sajjadi, [Head of the Presidential Office of Technological Cooperation], [Saber] Mirzaei, and Mirza Shahi came. They gave a report on their measures to strengthen the policy of organizing technology.
In the afternoon, Messrs. [Esmail] Ferdowsipour, [Assadollah] Badamchian, and [Mohsen] Sabbagh from the 7th of Tir Martyrs Foundation came. The plan to build a mass grave for 72 people at the Islamic Republic Party’s location [on Sarcheshmeh Street] was discussed. They sought help and announced the registration of the foundation.
After the dissolution of the Tehran City Council, today [Mr. Abdolvahid Mousavilari], the Minister of Interior, [Mr. Mohammad Hassan Malek Madani], dismissed the mayor and appointed Mr. [Mohammad Hossein] Moqemi to head the Tehran Municipality.
The United States has lowered the war drumbeat and is talking about the possibility of resolving the issue without war; in coordination with the beginning of efforts by others to force Saddam to surrender, and perhaps because of the great internal and global opposition, as well as the rise in oil and euro prices, the fall in stock market values ​​and the dollar, and the rapid decline in [George] Bush's popularity; while intensifying the routine bombing of Iraq and hitting eight points yesterday.
[UN weapons inspectors] in Iraq signed an agreement with the Iraqi government and expressed their satisfaction.
By adopting a firm stance against America, North Korea has managed to shift America from a tough, violent, and threatening stance to a position of request.
In Australia, forest fires have caused problems. The election of Libya to chair the UN Human Rights Commission has surprised international observers and angered America.
We have good snow and rain in the cities.