Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi - September 19, 2001 - Consultative Negotiations of Mohammad Hashemi

• Report by Mahdi Safari, former Ambassador of the Islamic Republic in Moscow, after the end of his mission in Russia.
• Consultative negotiations of Mohammad Hashemi.
• Report by Ali Shushtari, Head of the Third Branch of the Military Court of Tehran, regarding the treatment of defendants in the so-called serial killings, along with the announcement that Sheikh Mohammad Niazi and others will be tried in the special court for clergy due to censorship by the publisher of Hashemi's works.
• The outcome of such legal proceedings in the prosecutor's office and the special court for clergy was never publicized, and Sheikh Mohammad Niazi was appointed as the head of the Inspectorate Organization and later as the head of Branch 33 of the Supreme Court. Additionally, the other individual was also censored.
• Meeting with Rasoul Zargarpour, former Deputy Minister of Water Resources.

Full Diary Entry:

Mr. [Mahdi] Safari, the former ambassador in Moscow, came to see me. His term has ended, and Mr. [Gholamreza] Shafaei has replaced him. He has not yet been offered a suitable position in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and hopes to find a suitable job. We discussed the Caspian Sea.

My brother Mohammad, [the Executive Assistant to the President], came by. We discussed family matters and recent issues in the U.S., potential future actions by the U.S., and their possible effects. I had lunch with Mohsen, [the Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Metro Company], who is heading to China regarding metro issues.

In the afternoon, Mr. [Ali] Shushtari, the head of the Third Branch of the Military Court, arrived. He provided a report on the interrogations of the defendants in the serial killings. He mentioned that due to violations of laws during interrogations, they are under trial; the case is problematic. He said that Messrs. [Mohammad] Niazi, [the head of the Judicial Organization of Armed Forces], and others are also accused of issuing incorrect rulings in this matter and will be tried in the special clergy court.

The U.S.'s tone regarding the attack on Afghanistan has softened from the assertiveness of previous days, and discussions have shifted towards potential problems and lesser outcomes, along with global opposition forming. The Taliban Scholars' Assembly issued a statement today responding to the U.S., stating that the U.S. has not provided evidence for its claims against [Osama] bin Laden, [the leader of al-Qaeda], and if they proceed with an attack, they will face a situation similar to the Soviet Union's experience in Afghanistan.

General [Pervez] Musharraf, [the President of Pakistan], has also reduced his firm cooperation stance with the U.S., and public and clerical opposition against him in Pakistan has intensified, with Pakistani scholars calling for protests against the U.S. on Friday.

Mr. Engineer [Rasoul] Zargarpour, the dismissed Deputy Minister of Water, came by. He reported on his services and expressed grievances regarding his unjust dismissal, which he believes was due to the appointment of individuals affiliated with the [Participation] Party. Mr. Zargarpour stated that there is a program underway to dig 200 deep wells in Tehran to provide 10 cubic meters of water per second, which, if implemented, will solve Tehran's water shortage. This program was initiated during the Reconstruction Government but was later halted.