Akbar Hashemi's Memoirs - January 26, 2003

The U.S. Secretary of State, [Colin Powell], has stated that if necessary, [the U.S.] is prepared to go to war alone, and even if Saddam [Hussein, the President of Iraq] uses weapons of mass destruction, the U.S. will use atomic bombs; this threat has surprised international circles and is seen as a sign of American weakness...

Full diary text:
Despite aligning with the U.S. on the Iraq issue, Britain has stated that it is better to give the inspectors more time. Conversely, [Colin Powell], the U.S. Secretary of State, said that if necessary, [the U.S.] is prepared to go to war alone, and even if Saddam [Hussein, the President of Iraq] uses weapons of mass destruction, the U.S. will use atomic bombs; this threat has surprised international circles and is seen as a sign of American weakness. Last night, Israel attacked Gaza with 30 tanks and helicopters, resulting in 12 martyrs and dozens of injuries, surpassing the limits of cruelty.

Mr. [Mohammad] Atrianfar, [former Chairman of the Tehran City Council and Editor-in-Chief of Hamshahri newspaper], came. He severely criticized the government, especially the Ministry of Interior, for misconduct regarding the Tehran Municipality, the failure to guide the City Council, and the neglect of development and infrastructure projects, stating that if this situation continues, Tehran will face insoluble problems. He complained about Mr. [Alireza] Mahjoub, the Islamic Labour Party, and the Worker's House for their lawsuit against Hamshahri newspaper and its ten-day closure, which he called a second blow; this follows the previous blow when its national distribution was banned, causing its circulation to drop from about 400,000 copies a day to about 200,000.

Mr. [Behrouz Nouri] Khajavi, [Managing Director], came with a group of colleagues from the Boland Payeh [Engineering and Construction] Company. They explained samples of their ongoing construction projects and stated that the Tehran Municipality's decision to hand over the upper part of the Milad Tower to the Sadid Company has caused a delay of several years. They suggested that Iran, like Western countries, should build part of its oil storage tanks at sea and underwater. They also had a proposal for constructing gas storage tanks. They criticized the government's weak management of construction projects and its fragmented (siloed) operations.

Mr. [Reza] Aghanouri, head of the Cardiovascular Research Institute [at Tehran University of Medical Sciences], came and complained about the government's lack of cooperation in establishing a research center for chemical injuries. I asked him to consider establishing a group of lawyers to defend the rights of [chemical war] victims in [international] courts to condemn the United States.

Mr. [Mohsen] Ghomi, the Leader's representative in universities, came. He said 35% of students support the revolution, 15% oppose it, and the rest are indifferent. The situation with professors is better than with students, but the moral situation is not good. Part of the blame lies with the Ministry of Science, where managers engage in political maneuvering and are not concerned with reforming the culture and politics of students, and the radical [Office for] Strengthening Unity group, supported by Dr. [Mostafa] Moeen, [Minister of Culture and Higher Education], is a source of conflict. He requested that I visit universities more often. (January 26, 2003)