Akbar Hashemi’s Memoirs – February 8, 2003

In the meeting of the heads of the branches of government, Messrs. Khatami and Karroubi protested the expansion of intelligence activities within the Revolutionary Guard and the Judiciary, as well as the methods of interrogation. Mr. Hashemi Shahroudi responded that the Revolutionary Guard and the Law Enforcement Force are agents of the Judiciary and their work is legal; he added that the worst interrogation conditions occurred during the chain murders investigation, for which the President himself had appointed the investigators. At this point, Mr. Khatami became angry, shouted, and said, "You give me dismissive and insulting answers to my protests, and if my two bills are not approved, I will step down."

Full Diary Text:

In the Infrastructure Commission [of the Expediency Council], we completed the general policies for the agricultural sector. Messrs. [Bijan Namdar] Zanganeh [Minister of Petroleum] and [Ali] Mobini [Secretary of the Infrastructure Commission] consulted regarding the preparation of the general policies for the country's twenty-year vision. It was decided to invite several groups of researchers to begin the work.

In the afternoon, Mr. [Mohammad] Jahromi came. He is dissatisfied that some of his responsibilities in the Secretariat [of the Council] have been assigned to Mr. Hassan Vaezi; however, he still retains responsibility for cooperation with the special commission for revising the instances of general policies. He also had remarks regarding the government's bill and the elections for the councils and Parliament.

At night, I attended the meeting of the heads of the branches at the office of Mr. [Seyyed Mohammad] Khatami [the President]. Messrs. Khatami and [Mehdi] Karroubi [Speaker of Parliament] protested the expansion of intelligence activities in the Revolutionary Guard and the Judiciary, as well as the methods of interrogation. Mr. [Seyyed Mahmoud] Hashemi Shahroudi [Head of the Judiciary] responded that the Revolutionary Guard and the Law Enforcement Force are agents of the Judiciary and their work is legal. Regarding the interrogation methods, he denied the statements made by Engineer [Ezzatollah] Sahabi and said that the worst conditions were those of the chain murders interrogations, which the President himself had appointed. At this point, Mr. Khatami became angry, shouted, and said, "You give me dismissive and insulting answers to my protests, and if my two bills are not approved, I will step down; until then, I will no longer take any action to prevent [anything]." It was decided to appoint one group to review the law and another to review the methods of interrogation. There was also discussion regarding the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections of the nuclear industries.

In the reports, the growing rift between France and Germany and the United States over the Iraq issue has drawn attention. The suicide attempts by a number of Guantanamo prisoners are significant and increase pressure on the U.S.; their number has reached 650, and the U.S. cannot defend its actions, which go against custom and law.

Five members of the U.S. Congress have proposed a plan for the U.S. government to take action in support of the opponents of the Islamic system in Iran—as if it hadn't been doing so until now! The seven countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council have sent military forces to Kuwait.

Foreign media have introduced an individual named "Hamid Zakeri," claiming he was a guard at the Leader’s residence who fled abroad and intends to reveal secrets!!

I did not return home tonight. Effat has gone to Rafsanjan for the mourning ceremony of the passing of Bibi Fatemeh—her aunt.