Akbar Hashemi’s Memoirs – January 31, 2003

[Nelson] Mandela, the former president of South Africa, has stated that U.S. policy is adventurous and that [Tony Blair], the British Prime Minister, is running the White House. The lifting of Ayatollah Montazeri's house arrest has been welcomed, and foreign media are providing extensive coverage of his meetings.

Full Diary Text:

I was at home. The time was spent resting and reading. At noon, the children gathered. I spoke on the phone with A-Sayyid Ahmad Khatami [representative of Kerman Province] to resolve his grievance regarding the final session of the previous Assembly of Experts meeting; Mr. Majid Ansari [representative of Tehran Province] had interrupted his speech, insulted him, and walked out of the session. He has written to the Presiding Board stating that since Mr. Ansari's actions were not condemned, he expects it to be condemned at the beginning of the next session, otherwise, he will resign. I told him this approach is not appropriate and that it will be compensated for in some way during the session.

In the evening, a group of relatives from the Safarian family—my cousins—came over. Ghasem Safarian is the head of the Bahraman [Islamic City] Council. He spoke about the situation in the newly established town [of Bahraman] regarding water, electricity, roads, health services, the police station, and also the Islamic Azad University, for which Mr. Hassan Taghizadeh, a farmer from Bahraman, donated 300 million Tomans for its establishment, and the Council has handed the land over to the university. They mentioned that the people expect me to visit them occasionally.

The United States announced that four people were killed during the crash of its helicopter in Kabul. Today, two massive explosions occurred in Kandahar, one of which left 18 dead and dozens wounded; no report was given regarding the other.

[Nelson] Mandela, the former president of South Africa, has stated that U.S. policy is adventurous and that [Tony Blair], the British Prime Minister, is running the White House. The White House has officially announced that it is ready to guarantee the safety of Saddam [Hussein, the President], his family, and top Iraqi leaders in a country of his choice if he steps down.

Yesterday, a pharmaceutical factory in the United States exploded, leaving a group of people dead and injured. Today in Australia, a train derailed, resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries.

The lifting of Ayatollah Montazeri's house arrest has been welcomed, and foreign media are providing extensive coverage of his meetings.