Akbar Hashemi's Memoirs - November 8, 1999 - Meeting with Majid Ansari and Subtle Political Discussions Encouraging Hashemi to Run for Parliament

In today’s entry, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani reflects on several important meetings, including one with Majid Ansari, as well as a joint visit from a member of the Iranian Parliament and a former Ministry of Intelligence official. These interactions were marked by both encouragement for Hashemi to participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections and concerns about the Ministry of Intelligence following the fallout from the chain murders.

The meeting with Majid Ansari, in particular, involved a discussion on parliamentary disagreements with the Guardian Council over disqualification procedures, with Ansari urging Hashemi to run for the sixth parliamentary elections. He also criticized the current management of Parliament and expressed concern over Abdullah Nouri’s aggressive stance in his court defense, despite advice to adopt a more cautious tone.

Additionally, a joint meeting was held between Mostafa Zarei, the representative for Sarvestan in the Fifth Parliament, and the former Director-General of Intelligence for Sistan and Baluchistan. Both expressed dissatisfaction with how the Ministry of Intelligence managers were being treated due to the chain murders and sought Hashemi’s help to prevent further demoralization of ministry personnel.

Hashemi also mentions sending a letter through Mehdi Hashemi to Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia regarding the establishment of the Asia-Africa Foundation, one of Hashemi’s long-standing ideas.

Later in the day, 12 senior members from various conservative groups, including the Islamic Coalition Party and war veterans’ organizations, visited Hashemi, urging him to participate in the elections. They viewed his candidacy as the only way to avert potential dangers and implicitly acknowledged past mistakes in their political positions. While Hashemi showed some flexibility, he ultimately deferred the decision, signaling a need for further consideration.

A letter from Seyed Reza Akrami, representing the community of preachers in Tehran, was also delivered. The letter conveyed unanimous support from Tehran's clerics, requesting Hashemi’s participation in the elections.

Finally, Hashemi received a phone call from his wife, who was on a pilgrimage to Mecca, reporting her well-being. Meanwhile, attention remained on the Tajikistan elections, with Seyed Abdullah Nouri (of Tajikistan) stating that concessions had been made to encourage participation in the elections.