Memories of Akbar Hashemi - February 18, 2002 - Concerns Expressed by Some Members of the Expediency Discernment Council Regarding the Escalation of Tone and Urgency in Political Factions and Quotation of Seyyed Mohammad Khatami's Reaction in a Cabinet Me

Memories of Akbar Hashemi - February 18, 2002 - Concerns Expressed by Some Members of the Expediency Discernment Council Regarding the Escalation of Tone and Urgency in Political Factions and Quotation of Seyyed Mohammad Khatami's Reaction in a Cabinet Meeting Regarding the Trial of Seyyed Mustafa Tajzadeh

Discussion of the Draft General Policies of the System Regarding the Location of Cities and the Physical Structure of Cities in the Infrastructure Commission of the Expediency Discernment Council

Concerns Expressed by Some Members of the Expediency Discernment Council Regarding the Escalation of Tone and Urgency in Political Factions and Quotation of Seyyed Mohammad Khatami's Reaction in a Cabinet Meeting Regarding the Trial of Seyyed Mustafa Tajzadeh and the Summoning of Morteza Hajji to the Judiciary, Including His Statement to the Government: "Prepare Yourselves to Be Tried for Collaborating with the President."

Report from Gholamreza Aghazadeh on His Meeting with Ayatollah Khamenei and His Proposal to Resign as Head of the Atomic Energy Organization, Along with His Emphasis and Recommendation to Remain in Office

Report from Mohsen Hashemi on the Inauguration of the Museum and Documentation Center of the Presidency in Rafsanjan

Meeting with Hadi Nedimi and Sheikh Ahmad Bahraini, Along with Reports on Cultural Initiatives at Shahid Beheshti University

Meeting with Brigadier General Farhad Nazari, Commander of Greater Tehran Police, Who Has Been Cleared of Charges Related to the University Campus Incident, Reporting on His Actions and Announcing Multiple Lawsuits Against Reformists Including Mustafa Tajzadeh, Mohammad Kazem Kouhi, Seyyed Mohammad Ali Abtahi, the Office of the Consolidation of Unity, and Seyyed Mohammad Khatami, the Then President, While Expressing Frustration Over the Lack of Support for Him as a Duty-Conscientious Officer

Full Text of the Daily Journal:

In the morning, the Infrastructure Commission of the [Expediency Discernment Council] held a session. The general policies of the system regarding the location of cities and the physical structure of cities were approved according to specific criteria. Before the session started, attendees expressed concerns about the escalation of tone and urgency in political factions, stating that Mr. [Seyyed Mohammad] Khatami expressed dissatisfaction during the Cabinet meeting regarding the trial of Mr. [Mustafa] Tajzadeh, [Deputy Minister of Interior], and the summoning of Mr. [Morteza] Hajji, the Minister of Cooperatives. He mentioned that his letters to the head of the judiciary received irrelevant responses and advised the ministers to prepare themselves to be tried for collaborating with the president.

Right-wing newspapers have also criticized Mr. Khatami's harsh tone during the Security Council meetings. After the session, Mr. [Gholamreza] Aghazadeh, [the head of the Atomic Energy Organization], reported on his meeting with the leadership, stating that he had expressed his desire to resign from this position, but the leadership advised him to stay. During lunch, Mohsen presented a report on the inauguration of a cultural, service, and sports complex, as well as the documentation center and library and museum of the president in Rafsanjan.

In the afternoon, Dr. [Hadi] Nedimi, the head of Shahid Beheshti University, accompanied by Mr. [Ahmad] Bahraini, the representative of the Supreme Leader at the university, reported on the programs for the marriage ceremony of 14,000 students from universities across the country and requested my attendance at the opening ceremony and for me to provide a gift. They mentioned that through donations and gifts, each couple would receive about one million tomans, and the ceremony's expenses would be covered by the committee. Dr. Nedimi expressed concern about the lack of funding for universities.

Brigadier General Farhad Nazari, [the former commander of Greater Tehran Police], who was acquitted in the case related to the university campus incident, provided a detailed account of his defense and the smear campaigns by the Second Khordad Front. He stated that he has filed cases against hundreds of individuals who made statements against him during that incident, including Mr. [Mustafa] Tajzadeh, [Mohammad Kazem] Kouhi, the director of the University Campus of Tehran, [Mohammad Ali] Abtahi, the head of the president's office, and [Seyyed Mohammad] Khatami, and the Office of the Consolidation of Unity. He expressed satisfaction with his effective resistance and defense and expressed frustration over the lack of support from higher officials for a duty-conscious officer.

At the same time, U.S. leaders have traveled to several Asian and Middle Eastern countries to defend their war policies and unilateralism. [George] Bush, accompanied by [Colin] Powell and [Condoleezza] Rice, visited China, Japan, and South Korea, while Dick Cheney, the Vice President, and [George] Tenet, the head of the CIA, went to the Middle East. Widespread protests against Bush were organized by civic groups in South Korea and Japan. In Japan, Bush was warned about the development of nuclear weapons, environmental policies, and military actions. Today, France officially abandoned its national currency, the franc, in favor of the euro after 540 years.

Mr. [Abdulqawi Abdul-Wasi Al-Iryani], the new Yemeni ambassador, visited. The discussions were routine. He invited me to visit Yemen. He is fluent in Persian and was a student at Tehran University during the peak of the revolution. He met me as Yemen's chargé d'affaires at the beginning of the formation of the parliament. He praised Iran's heroic positions on global issues and against imperialists.

Mr. [Ghodratollah] Alikhani, the representative from Bouin Zahra, expressed that the recent actions of the judiciary have led to unity among the Second Khordad Front members, who previously had internal conflicts. He believes that Mr. [Mahdi] Karrubi, [the Speaker of Parliament], did not consult with anyone in his recent statements, leading to a deterioration of relations with the leadership. He requested my assistance to both mend relations and address issues. He claimed that Mr. Hoshang Shahrudi, [the head of the judiciary], lacks empathy for the revolution as he has not made sacrifices for it, and his actions are harmful to the revolution and revolutionaries. He believes that figures such as [Mohammad Baqer] Zolqadr, [the deputy commander of the IRGC], and Morteza Rezaei are bolstering him. He mentioned that the representatives from the three branches who are investigating the Sharham Jazayeri case have met with him in the presence of a judge, and now the representatives of Mr. Karrubi and Khatami regret that they agreed to meet in the presence of a judge, as they cannot speak freely.

Mr. [Hosseini] Mahlouji, [former Minister of Mines and Metals], came in expressing his dissatisfaction with the [General] Inspectorate. Although all previous cases against him were resolved in court in his favor, they continue to pursue him. He is also upset with the leadership for creating an environment in which he cannot work in the public sector or the private sector, leading to a waste of his energy.

In the evening, Brigadier General [Qasem] Soleimani, [the commander of the IRGC Quds Force], came. He has recently returned from Lebanon. He stated that, thankfully, the ship carrying assistance for Hezbollah has arrived at its destination, which had caused him great concern. In Lebanon, he discussed the situation in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah, and Israel with Hezbollah leaders and assessed the likelihood of an attack by Israel and the U.S. on Hezbollah. They made decisions based on various scenarios. He believes that Israel cannot eliminate Hezbollah, as Hezbollah's resources are abundant and organized, allowing them to inflict significant damage on both Israel and the U.S. if conflict arises. They expressed the need for more financial assistance.

He expressed dissatisfaction with the positions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Security Council, and Dr. [Hassan] Rouhani regarding Afghanistan. He believes that their opinions disregard the leadership's directives, which remain unexecuted. He stated that most governors in Afghanistan are aligned with Iran, and there have been constant attacks against American military personnel in Afghanistan. He is upset about the handling of [Gulbuddin] Hekmatyar, [the leader of the Islamic Party of Afghanistan], and the announcement of the arrest of Al-Qaeda fugitives in Iran, stating that Karim Khalili, [the leader of the Islamic Unity Party], has surrendered to the U.S., while the other Mujahideen leaders do not have poor positions. He is angry about the stances of [Mohsen] Aminzadeh, [the Deputy of Asia and Oceania in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs].

A Tupolev plane bound for Zahedan failed to lower its landing gear while over Zahedan and was instructed to continue flying until fuel ran low to find a solution. The pilot flew for three hours, and ultimately, near Bandar Abbas, the flight engineer managed to manually lower the gear and land. This occurred while the negative atmosphere surrounding the Tupolev crash in the White Mountains of Khorramabad continues. God and the expertise of the flight engineer prevented the situation from escalating into a crisis.

Mr. [Seyyed Mahmoud] Hashemi Shahrudi, [the head of the judiciary], emphasized in response to student inquiries that the children of Hashemi Rafsanjani have no complaints or cases against them in the judiciary, which is unfortunate for those who have spread negative rumors against my children in recent years.

Ali Afshari, a member of the Central Council of the Office for the Consolidation of Unity who had confessed to a crime in an interview, now claims he was under pressure during the interview and has expressed regret and apologized, retracting his statement.