Akbar Hashemi’s Memoirs – February 4, 2003

The Leader is opposed to the participation of the National-Religious groups in the city council elections and has ordered their disqualification. He agrees with the proposal for a retirement system for the clergy, but believes Mr. Navvab is characterized by a lack of discipline.

Full Diary Text:

The suspension of the space shuttle program in the United States has sparked a very serious debate regarding space missions; although 82% of Americans support continuing the programs, there is also staunch opposition from those who believe such wasteful expenses should not be incurred. Russia has also stated that it will not send manned spacecraft into space until further notice, and will only dispatch cargo ships to assist the International Space Station, while China has announced it will launch a manned mission this year.

Mr. [Masoud] Karbasian, the head of Customs, came and spoke of the rise in [commodity] smuggling, especially the smuggling of sugar and foodstuffs. He considers the government's flawed tariff policies to be among the contributing factors.

Mr. [Seyyed Mohammad-Baqer] Shamaei, the dismissed Friday Prayer Leader of Komijan, came and once again complained about Mr. Komijani’s behavior. He had written a letter to the Leader which I delivered; it was decided that he should be redressed.

Sheikh Mohammad Al-Eshaq came along with his son-in-law [Mahmoud] Shirazian [CEO of Boali Daru Company]. He explained his work in herbal medicine production based on Avicenna’s The Canon of Medicine, stating he has developed treatments for many diseases and has a large number of patients. The Ministry of Health has instructed him not to distribute medicine for conditions such as diabetes, cataracts, and vascular stenosis through his representatives in other cities.

In the evening, Christopher Patten, the European Union's special envoy, came to visit. He had questions regarding democracy, human rights, the Iraq issue [the potential attack], the court case for the [Ayandeh] polling institute [defendants], and the fate of the President's two bills; he received firm answers. He seems to be among the supporters of Iran within the European Union.

I had a meeting with the Leader at night. He is opposed to the participation of the National-Religious groups in the city council elections and has ordered their disqualification. He agrees with the proposal for a retirement system for the clergy but believes Mr. [Seyyed Abulhasan] Navvab [Director of the Clergy Services Center] is characterized by a lack of discipline. Regarding the meeting with members of the Assembly of Experts, he considers the session useful and necessary. Concerning the Supreme Council for the [Islamic Revolution] in Iraq and Iraqi affairs, a decision has been made to give Mr. [Seyyed Mohammad-Baqer] Hakim [head of the Supreme Council] the authority to act according to his own judgment; they informed Mr. Hakim of this yesterday.

Today, a lengthy meeting took place in Paris between [Tony] Blair [UK Prime Minister] and [Jacques] Chirac [French President] aimed at aligning France with U.S. policy on Iraq, which was unsuccessful; Chirac says he will veto any UN Security Council resolution authorizing war. Turkey is also gradually speaking of cooperation with the U.S. in the war against Iraq.