‍ Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's Diary - April 2, 2000 - Continuation of the Disputes Between the Ministry of Intelligence and the Judiciary Regarding the Assassins of Saeed Hajarian

Continuation of the Disputes Between the Ministry of Intelligence and the Judiciary Regarding the Assassins of Saeed Hajarian

Meeting with Seyed Morteza Askari and his complaint about those who reprimanded him for not insulting the sanctities of Sunni Muslims or criticizing the fatwas and opinions of Ayatollah Seyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, particularly regarding the claim that the house of Lady Fatima did not burn.

Meeting with Javad Moghadasi, the then-Head of the Tehran Friday Prayer Organizing Committee.

Meeting with Dr. Karim Zare and a report on his work at Azad University.

Continuation of the disputes between the Ministry of Intelligence and the Judiciary regarding the assassins of Saeed Hajarian.


Ayatollah Seyed Morteza Askari came. He gave a report on the status of his faculties and thanked me for granting permission to establish them with the help of five million tomans during my presidency. He also mentioned my government's development plan as the most important service in Iranian history and complained about the criticisms of some hardliners regarding him, that he is unwilling to insult Sunni Muslims or reject Mr. Seyed [Mohammad Hussein] Fadlallah's views on the non-burning of the house of Lady Fatima (peace be upon her). He brought his books regarding the refutation of hadiths that distort the Quran.

Mr. [Javad] Moghadasi, [Head of the Tehran Friday Prayer Organizing Committee] came. He said that his grandson, who was a student in Shahroud, died due to a gas leak and therefore cut short his pilgrimage and returned. He criticized the political, cultural, and economic situation of Mr. Khatami's government and offered solutions, including my greater presence in leading the [Tehran] Friday prayers.

Mr. [Karim] Zare, the president of Azad University [branch] Tehran Center came and said that they have more than 60,000 students and reported the important works of the university. Messrs. Javad Rafizadeh and Mahmoud Karimi, [officials of the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee] came; expressing concern about the country's situation and opposing the Leader's economic ideas and offered solutions.

Since the day before yesterday, [Mr. Keizo Obuchi], the Prime Minister of Japan, has been in a coma due to a stroke; [Mr. Yoshiro Mori], the new person, was chosen today. Today in Cairo, the conference of the leaders of African and European countries ended with the issuance of a resolution and a decision regarding supporting Africans. In Ethiopia, due to war and drought, famine has occurred, and in general, the Horn of Africa is in a critical situation. In Zimbabwe, the invasion of white people's lands has begun, and [Robert] Mugabe, the president, is not doing anything for them due to the lack of support from the majority of the people in the recent elections.

The dispute between the Ministry of Intelligence and the Judiciary over the assassins of [Mr. Saeed Hajarian] continues. The summons of Mr. Mohammad Reza Khatami, [editor-in-chief of the Mosharkat newspaper] to court has also had a wide impact; in general, the Judiciary is under pressure from the left-wing press due to the issue of the trial of Hajarian's assailants and the prosecution of newspapers.