Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi - August 17, 2001 - The Inauguration Ceremony of President Mohammad Khatami After Resolving Issues and Proposals by the Expediency Council for Selecting the Legal Members of the Guardian Council

The inauguration ceremony of President Mohammad Khatami took place after resolving issues and proposals by the Expediency Council for selecting the legal members of the Guardian Council.

Meeting with Ali Larijani and political consultations regarding cabinet changes.

Consultative meeting with Ali Vakeeli and Seyed Reza Sajadi about developmental plans.

Reza Amrollahi's grievance about his dismissal from the presidency of the Atomic Energy Organization by Khatami.

Consultative meeting with Heydarollah Aqaei and a report on aluminum projects.

Suspension of the Hamahbasti newspaper and Hashemi's account of the main reason being the insult to the then head of the judiciary despite private complaints.

Complete Daily Note:

In the morning, I went to the parliament for the inauguration ceremony of the president. After Mr. Karrubi's speech [the Speaker of the Parliament], Mr. Shahroudi [the head of the judiciary] spoke and advised the president; he had some confrontations with certain leftists, and later some leftist representatives claimed that the head of the judiciary's remarks contradicted the parliamentary regulations. Mr. Khatami, after taking the oath, read an extensive speech prepared in advance; most of it was political, and he praised some of the works done.

I went to my office. Mr. [Ali] Larijani, [the head of the Broadcasting Organization], came and said it seems that the parliament and government do not intend to address the country's affairs in the second term either. He asked me to think of something for the salvation of the country and the revolution and informed me about potential cabinet changes.

Mr. [Ali] Vakeeli [the head of the Research Institute of Petroleum Industry] and Mr. [Seyed Reza] Sajadi [the head of the Technology Cooperation Office of the Presidency] came. They explained the plan to manufacture military training jet aircraft, which started with my assistance eight years ago and has made good progress with the help of one of the specialists from the former Soviet Union—Mr. Mohammadov, who is from Tajikistan. They said that after the previous six million dollar assistance from the Reconstruction government, no further help has been provided and they asked me to remind the relevant officials to support the project, which is at risk of being halted. It seems that they have signed a contract with Mr. Mohammadov for the construction of three aircraft for 19 million dollars.

Mr. [Reza] Amrollahi [the former head of the Atomic Energy Organization] came and said that Mr. Khatami [the president] had talked to him, but he was not invited to any specific work; he was dissatisfied with his dismissal. He mentioned that some nuclear specialists have criticisms about the ongoing affairs of the Atomic Energy Organization.

In the evening, Mr. [Heydarollah] Aqaei, the Deputy Minister of Industries and the person in charge of aluminum industries, came and said that the ministry has recently recognized the importance of aluminum development projects during the Reconstruction government and measures have been taken to activate the Teflin industries in East Azerbaijan and to develop the Almahdi aluminum and utilize bauxite mines; although the departure of the United States from the Kyoto [Environmental] Agreement and the global economic recession have stagnated the aluminum market, there is a significant interest in Iran's aluminum development projects.

Today, the Press Court has suspended the Hamahbasti newspaper [under the management of Mr. Ebrahim Bay-Salami], which is one of the leftist media outlets, and given that it is the Journalist Day and the day of the president's inauguration, this has received widespread attention and has worried the leftists. They say it is due to an insult in yesterday's issue to the head of the judiciary, and it quoted [Mr. Rasul Mehrpour], a representative from Dargaz, saying that Mr. Shahroudi is not Iranian and does not pay attention to the interests of Iran and Iranians; however, the court stated that it was due to 17 complaints against the newspaper.

Israel continues to increase its pressure against the Palestinians, attacking them with helicopters and artillery; they have become very audacious. Yesterday marked the eighth U.S. airstrike against Iraq this Christian year.