Akbar Hashemi's Memoirs - March 21, 2001 Analyses regarding the Nowruz speeches of Ayatollah Khamenei in Mashhad and Seyed Mohammad Khatami. A New Year's trip to Kish Island.

Akbar Hashemi's Memoirs - March 21, 2001

Analyses regarding the Nowruz speeches of Ayatollah Khamenei in Mashhad and Seyed Mohammad Khatami.  

A New Year's trip to Kish Island.  

Report by Sheikh Mohammad Reza Nouri Shahrudi on the situation in Iraq.  

Reports from Hossein Ghasemi, the new CEO of Kish Free Zone Organization.

After prayers, supplication, and exercise, I packed my travel bag. We were at [Mehrabad] Airport at 9 a.m. and flew to Kish Island. Effat, Fati, Yasser, the children, a group of guards and relatives, Mr. [Mohammad Reza] Nouri Shahrudi [former ambassador of Iran to Saudi Arabia], and his family were also with us.

Mr. Nouri had gone on a pilgrimage to the holy sites in Iraq last week and shared extensive information from his observations, including that Iraq’s economic and political situation has deteriorated to the point of disaster. For example, they have six hours of power outages every day. Three Iraqi dinars are exchanged for one Iranian toman, whereas before, one dinar was worth 23 tomans. Food and hygiene products are rationed—far less than what people need. The streets and roads built before the war are deteriorating. The cars are worn out, and the cities look dirty and lifeless. The carpets inside the shrines have been removed, and the surroundings of the shrines are as dirty, polluted, and crowded as they were decades ago. Politically, people don’t dare to express even the slightest opposition. There is oppression everywhere, and Iranian pilgrims visit the shrines under strict supervision. No pilgrim is allowed to move freely or alone, and pilgrims, by comparing the conditions in Iraq with those in Iran, can better appreciate the post-war reconstruction in Iran.

In Kish, we were welcomed by the managers. Mr. [Hossein] Ghasemi, the new CEO [of the Kish Free Zone Organization], gave a brief report on the situation in Kish during the drive to the residence. It is almost the same as before, except that unfortunately, Mr. [Mohammad Reza] Yazdanpanah, the former CEO, is in prison. He has sought my help to save him. I receive reports from the [Internet] computer three times a day.

[Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei], the leader, delivered a speech in Mashhad, as in previous years. His remarks were not harsh. Foreign interpretations of the cold messages from both the leader and the president at the turn of the year continue. From Mr. [Seyed Mohammad] Khatami’s [the president’s] speech, they have inferred increased doubt about his candidacy [for the presidential election], and from the leader’s speech, dissatisfaction with last year’s government performance and a request for more activity in the new year.

In foreign relations, a harsh statement by the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries regarding the issue of the [Abu Musa, Greater and Lesser Tunb] islands has cooled relations. There have been two explosions in Tehran and Baghdad, interpreted as reciprocal actions. The Americans have intensified their negative remarks, particularly regarding Iran-Russia cooperation.

In global matters, the Taliban in Afghanistan sacrificed about 100 cows after successfully destroying the statues, especially the Buddha statues [in Bamiyan], interpreting the heavy rainfalls of the past few days as a divine reward for fulfilling this duty!! The U.S. is experiencing an economic recession, and lowering interest rates has not helped. In Europe, the outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease and mad cow disease have paralyzed the livestock industry.