Akbar Hashemi's Memoirs - October 9, 2002

Mr. Khatami said that the trip to Saudi Arabia did not yield any results, except for pilgrimage and rest, and it turned out that Saudi Arabia is very afraid of America. He is upset by the severe attacks that the right wing is making against him, he is worried about the opposition of the leadership, and it seems that the possibility of resigning if the bills are rejected is serious. I told them to get the thought of resigning out of their heads, because it is harmful for themselves and for the country.

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In the morning, we went to the Imam Khomeini Complex to give a speech to the gathering of Friday imams from all over the country. Mr. [Seyyed Reza] Taqwa, [Chairman of the Friday imams' policy-making council], reported and said hello. 444 Friday prayers will be held in the country. I gave a detailed speech about the conflict between the ideas of the religious government and secular ideas since the beginning of the revolution, and the Western support for the secularists and its peak at the present time, and pointed out the strengths of the revolutionary forces and the weaknesses of the opposing side, the problems of the United States, and analyzed the issues of Iraq and the possible war.

I went to my office. Mr. Ramadan Abdullah, the commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, came. He had a heart operation at Shahid Rajaee Hospital and is doing well. He said that about 12,000 Palestinians have been arrested in recent months and are in Israeli prisons; they do not visit, but they are in contact with their families by phone and through the Red Cross. For this reason, the possibility of martyrdom operations has decreased. He is concerned that the construction of the barrier wall will reduce the possibility of infiltration into Israel's main territory.

In the afternoon, the Board of Trustees of the Islamic Azad University held a meeting. The purchase of the University of Oxford in England from Mr. [Mohsen] Araki, the establishment of a research park, several new university units, a budget of 250 billion tomans this year, which is mainly financed through student fees, the university's cooperation with the History Foundation to record the history of the revolution, and the [formation of] a Central Planning Council were approved.

In Afghanistan, the administrators of six southern and eastern provinces in Paktia held a meeting with US representatives and warned the US that US military forces should not conduct house-to-house searches and inspections or deal with people without coordinating with local officials. Recently, these US actions have angered the people and led them to side with the Taliban, and many clashes have occurred; in the north, there have also been clashes between armed groups.

George Bush, [US President], has asked the court to force striking workers at 28 western US ports to break their strike. These ports have been closed for several days, causing great damage to the American economy and the Eastern countries.

No results were achieved, except for pilgrimage and rest, and it became clear that Saudi Arabia is very afraid of America, and any action to prevent American evil in Iraq, Palestine, and the Persian Gulf region is fruitless and late, and they are not prepared for preventive and collective measures, and they only agreed to have two people act as liaisons between Iran and Saudi Arabia to exchange information and consultations. It also became clear that a few weeks ago, America was waiting for a major incident similar to a coup with major assassinations or widespread riots in Iran, and [George] Bush told Prince Abdullah, [the Saudi Crown Prince], that America would not interfere in it, and Prince Abdullah believed it.

Regarding the new government bills to the parliament, regarding elections and the president's powers, he is upset by the severe attacks that the right wing is making against him personally, but he says that the result has been that people have understood that their past compliments are superficial. He said that there have been no major objections from the Qom authorities, except from Mr. [Mohammad] Fadel Lankarani regarding the elimination of the condition of meeting the conditions for parliamentary candidates and Mr. [Nasser] Makarem [Shirazi] regarding the possibility of a presidential dictatorship, and some, such as Mr. Yousef Sanei, agree. He is concerned about the opposition of the leadership and it seems that the possibility of withdrawal is serious if the bills are rejected. I told them to get the thought of withdrawal out of their heads, because it is harmful for themselves and for the country, and I said that perhaps it would have been more appropriate if the bills were not from the government and the representatives were proposing that the attacks not be directed at the president.

Mr. Khatami is heading to Turkey for the ECO [Economic Cooperation Organization] summit. I told the Turks to tell them not to talk about occupying northern Iraq again, it is dangerous. He was upset about the objections he received at the IRGC commanders' summit and said that intelligence officials say that it was coordinated by General [Mohammad Baqir] Zolqadr, the deputy [commander-in-chief of the IRGC].
The Turkish defense minister has said that if the US attacks Iraq, Turkey will occupy Mosul and Kirkuk, and the Turkish foreign minister has rejected that.
At night, I arranged the marriage of Emir [Safrian], the son of Fati Akhoyzadeh.