Akbar Hashemi's Memoirs - September 17, 2001 - Meeting with a Group of Revolutionary Guard Commanders and Political Consultations

Meeting with Hamid Bayat Before His Deployment to Sudan

Meeting with Hadi Monafi and Mohammad Abedi Pour and a Report on Medical Affairs

Meeting with a Group of Revolutionary Guard Commanders and Political Consultations

Complete Daily Record:

The new Iranian ambassador to Sudan, Mr. [Hamid] Bayat, came for a farewell and consultation. He said that overall, relations have weakened in recent years. Sudan is not paying its debts; the amount has even increased, and recently the Minister of Religious Endowments complained to Iran about its interference in their internal affairs; it seems his intent is to strengthen Shiism. Sudan has grown closer to Egypt and Libya, at the cost of distancing itself from the Islamic Revolutionary forces and getting closer to the liberals, hoping that its relations with the West and the United States will improve.

Dr. [Hadi] Monafi, [the head of Mehr Hospital], and Dr. [Mohammad] Abedi Pour came. They reported on the status of plastic and reconstructive surgery. In the evening, a group of Revolutionary Guard commanders [including Mr. Alireza Afshar, Mohammad Nabi Roudaki, Ali Fazli, Majid Khadem, Ismail Kouhsari, Asadollah Nasih, Jafar Asadi, Mohammad Reza Sadeghi, and Hossein Parvin] came and explained about the comprehensive exhibition of the imposed war at Tehran's Mosalla and asked me to speak for them.

Last night, after the Iranian national football team’s victory over Iraq in Baghdad, young people poured into the streets in several major cities in Iran, including Tehran, Mashhad, Shiraz, and Hamadan, celebrating and causing disturbances, and in some cases clashing with the police.

The [anti-racism] conference in Durban published its final statement today. European governments were able to prevent the condemnation of Israel and the equivalence of Zionism with racism, although the right of Palestinians to have an independent state in Palestine and the crimes of slave owners were emphasized. Iran issued a statement clarifying its position regarding the statement.