Akbar Hashemi's Memoirs - September 19, 2001 - Trip to East Azerbaijan Province and Hashemi's Account of the Details of Its First Day

Trip to East Azerbaijan Province and Hashemi's Account of the Details of Its First Day

Complete Daily Record:

At 7:30 AM, we flew towards Tabriz. Eftekhari was also accompanying me. Mr. Ali Aghamohammadi, the Deputy of the Broadcasting Organization, introduced a book on the future state of the world, similar to what Karl Marx had done in the last century. He mentioned that the text is used in universities in the West. He asked me to take charge of guiding the forces loyal to the revolution, which are currently confused and lack direction, while the enemies of the revolution are active with extensive plans and resources.

At Tabriz Airport, provincial officials welcomed us. I gave a brief interview regarding the objectives of the trip, which was mainly for the inauguration of the grand congress commemorating the eighth anniversary of martyr [Asadollah] Modarresi, the representative of the Imam in Azerbaijan and the Friday Prayer Leader of Tabriz. During the journey on the northern bypass of Tabriz, we visited and received explanations from Mr. Yahya Mohammadzadeh, the governor of [East Azerbaijan], and Mr. Ebadollah Fathollahi, the mayor of [Tabriz]. This project began during the Reconstruction Government with the aim of managing excessive urban development and improving traffic flow, and is now near completion.

We went to the [Hazrat Vali Asr (may God hasten his appearance)] seminary. The school's director provided explanations about the number of students, the large library, vast halls, and dormitories. After the revolution, Mr. [Abdulhamid] Baqeri Bonabi built it, and Mr. [Muslim] Malekouti, the former Friday Prayer Leader of Tabriz, took it over from him.

We attended the grand hall of the congress for [Martyr Asadollah Modarresi]. A large number of scholars and officials were present. The text of the Supreme Leader's speech to the Martyr Modarresi Commemoration Committee was played, and Mr. [Mohsen Mojtahed] Shabestari, the Friday Prayer Leader of Tabriz, welcomed the attendees and spoke about Martyr Modarresi. The governor also delivered a welcoming speech. I gave an extensive speech and introduced Ayatollah Modarresi as a complete and comprehensive cleric whose life history aligns with the history of the revolution, having revolutionary and jihadist positions from youth until martyrdom.

We went to the governor's office. Mr. Mohammadzadeh, the governor of [East Azerbaijan], decided not to stay any longer and complained about the second Khordad people for their exclusivity, stating that they cannot tolerate the slightest criticism, even though he is from their group. We had lunch with him and his assistants.

After lunch, they expressed dissatisfaction with the political situation in the province, saying that voter turnout has been declining, and the recent presidential election had the lowest participation. This seems to be due to the promotion of nationalist ideas and [Pan-Turkism]. I received answers to my questions regarding the status of developmental, social, and cultural projects; most are stagnant. Migration from the province is high, and drought has caused significant damage.

I read reports from my travel laptop. In the afternoon, we visited the intranet project at the governor's office. They said they are the first province to take action to establish this project. The communication network between government offices, universities, institutions, and the private sector uses fiber optics and wireless systems, eliminating paper from administrative relations. Some of my questions could not be answered convincingly.

We went to see the Shahid Modarresi Dam [in Niayr], which is under construction in northern Tabriz. I had laid the foundation stone in 1995, and it was supposed to be operational in 2000, but currently, it is only 23% complete due to a reduction in project funding. Mr. [Rahim] Midani, the head of the provincial water authority, complained about the low funding for water projects in East Azerbaijan and Ardabil provinces and mentioned that eleven important dam construction projects are stagnant. He stated that if the projects for transferring water from the Zarrineh River and the Alavian Dam in Maragheh and the Sahand Dam in Tabriz—which were built during the Reconstruction Government—had not been undertaken, the drought crisis would have turned into a disaster. He explained the solutions for separating branches that introduce saline water into the river and modifying the spillway design to save the village of Khwajah, which could have been submerged, stating that they need 8 billion tomans this year, but only have 2 billion tomans in cash and 1.5 billion tomans from the sale of participation bonds. We saw the diversion tunnels.

They are nearing completion, and they are busy constructing a diversion dam, with the dam's materials located next to it. It will manage about 400 million cubic meters of water annually and irrigate 40,000 hectares of land in the Tabriz plain. There is a plan to direct some of the water to the river in the middle of Tabriz to help develop the city. [Engineer Raji, the managing director of Kowsar Company], who is the manager of one of the contractors, mentioned that this is the third time I am visiting one of his construction projects.

We went to the home of [Mr. Mohsen Mojtahed Shabestari], the Friday Prayer Leader. A group of clergy members from the Society of Combatant Clergy of [Tabriz] were gathered, expressing concerns about the state of the country and the dangers threatening Islam and the revolution, requesting my presence to prevent the dangers of deviations caused by the second Khordad faction.

After the prayer, more clerics from the province gathered. Mr. Shabestari spoke and, on behalf of the clerics, expressed concerns and dangers, asking for solutions. I spoke about the historical role of the clergy and emphasized the need to pay attention to the circumstances of time and place, to recognize the enemy's tricks, and to enlighten the people. One of the scholars from Tabriz said that he sees three conditions for an effective and beneficial speech: brief, concise, and useful.

After dinner, we went to the governor's office. In the news, there is ambiguity regarding Ahmad Shah Masoud's situation. Some say he has been killed, while others say he has survived after being unconscious for 36 hours. The Taliban and [Osama] bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda, are accused. Previously, I had read in intelligence reports that the Taliban leader had assigned individuals to plan for the assassination of opponents. American bombing in Iraq has left one dead.