Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani – April 14, 2003

The discussion about the status of the Najaf authorities is hot.  Yesterday, reports said that the homes of Ayat [Syed Ali] Sistani, Mohammad Saeed Hakim, Ishaq Fayyaz Afghani, were under siege by Moqtada Sadr's group and they were warned to either cooperate or leave Iraq.  Their fans became active in Iran and Kuwait and even asked the American forces to take responsibility for saving their lives, but today the news says that the blockade has been lifted.
The attackers have asked the Iraqi police to cooperate with them for security. It is said that this cooperation has started in Basra and Baghdad.  [US President] George Bush has openly accused Syria of having chemical weapons and supporting terrorists (Palestinians and Lebanese), as well as harboring fugitive Iraqi leaders and providing military aid to Baghdad, and [Defense Minister] [Donald] Rumsfeld has also said that Syrian people are fighting the invaders in the name of Arab volunteers.  Regarding Iran, they repeat the accusations in a calmer tone.
Another brother of Saddam [Hussein], named "Watban [Ibrahim] Tikriti" [former minister of the country], was arrested near the Syrian border.  In Najaf, a demonstration of 10,000 people was held in support of scholars and Islam and against the American rule over Iraq.  Anti-American demonstrations were repeated in Baghdad.  In Kot, [located in Wasit province], people stood in front of the American soldiers and prevented them from entering the governorate;  While some of the forces supporting [Ahmad] Chalabi, [General Secretary of the Iraqi National Congress], were with the American soldiers.
I went to the Imam Ali University (AS) of the Army Ground Forces for the "soldier status" ceremony.  After the introduction [Major General Mohammad Salimi, Commander-in-Chief of the Army] and the song and performance, I gave a speech;  By comparing the resistance of the Iranian army with the Iraqi army and the order and discipline of the Iranian people with the chaos in Iraq, after the fall of the Shah's regime and the Iraqi Baath regime. 
Mr. Dr. [Alireza] Bahrampour, [CEO of Iran Telecommunications Company] and Hamed Marashi, [Head of Inspection of Telecommunications Company] came.  They are happy about the last interview [Strategy Magazine] and they said, people believe that you have come to the stage again to save the country. I said, they published the interview with distortion.  In the evening, Mr. [Mohammed Reza] Yazdan Panah, [former CEO of Kish Azad Region Organization] and [Mohammad Hashem Mohimani], Governor of Golestan and his deputies came.  They explained about the plan to convert Ashurade Island in the Caspian Sea into a tourist village. 
I went to the dentist at night.  Yasser and Maryam brought food.  Yasser's daughter Lili's toe was broken.  In Afghanistan, the clashes intensified and two more explosions occurred in Kabul.