Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi - March 20, 2002 - Quotation from Abdollah Ramezanzadeh about the Government’s Readiness for Negotiations with America and Then Ayatollah Khamenei's Prohibition

Meeting with Abdollah Jasbi, report on the Executive Council of Islamic Universities meeting in Riyadh, and other political consultations, with Hashemi emphasizing the establishment of an office for the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Islamic Azad University

Meeting with Mohammad Ali Shari’i regarding ongoing issues at Fatemieh University of Qom

Morteza Alviri's visit, this time accompanied by Malekpour, for consultations on their development projects and Alviri's history of arrest

Quotation from Abdollah Ramezanzadeh about the government's readiness for negotiations with the U.S., followed by Ayatollah Khamenei’s prohibition

Full diary text:

Although it was a holiday, I went to my office to conduct end-of-year meetings. Dr. [Abdollah] Jasbi, [President of Islamic Azad University], came by. He gave a report on the Executive Council meeting of Islamic universities held in Riyadh, where he was elected as the chairman of the council on behalf of the Islamic Azad University.

He said that Emir Salman, the ruler of Riyadh, mentioned changes in the programs of Saudi universities, and that the president of King Saud University mentioned that Americans were exerting heavy pressure to reduce Islamic teachings in their education programs. After the events of September 11, the U.S. has begun a fight against Islam under the guise of combating fundamentalism. He also reported on thwarting the efforts of the "Second of Khordad" group [reformists] in inciting the students at Islamic Azad University, stating that they dissolved their meeting by gathering the students. I told him to take seriously the task of preparing the office for the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Islamic Azad University.

Mr. [Mohammad Ali] Shari’i, [President of the Women's Seminary], and his son came by. They said Fatemieh University and its hospital have accumulated around six billion tomans in debt, the hospital has been closed, and the university hasn’t admitted any students for two years. The leadership hasn't supported them. They consulted on the possibility of handing the university over to the government, while keeping its management under the seminary; the IRGC also has a proposal.

Mr. [Morteza] Alviri and Mr. Malekpour came by to explain their proposed "Haram to Haram" project in Qom. Mr. Malekpour began by sharing his background, saying that during the previous regime, he executed major projects, including the expansion of the holy shrines in Qom and Mashhad, as well as the construction of the Malekabad residential complex in Isfahan. After the revolution, his properties were confiscated, and he was sentenced to imprisonment, but Mr. [Seyed Abdul Karim] Mousavi-Ardebili, [the then Chief of the Judiciary], released him, and for a while, he worked with the judiciary. However, due to harassment by the Mehdi Hashemi gang and Omid Najafabadi, he left Iran and completed significant projects in the U.S. and China. He established contacts with [Bill] Clinton and the leader of China, and has recently considered returning to serve Iran. He had planned to build the Qeshm-Bandar Abbas bridge with Chinese financing, but after Mr. [Behrouz] Bushehri, [the former head of the Qeshm Free Zone], left, the project was canceled, causing him losses.

With the guidance of Mr. Alviri, [former mayor of Tehran], he decided to undertake a major project for Qom – the "Haram to Haram" project, connecting Jamkaran to the shrine of Hazrat Masoumeh (SA). He explained the plan with film and photos. The project is enormous, and I don't believe it's feasible. He wants to cover the seven-kilometer distance with a two-kilometer width, including hundreds of economic and cultural initiatives. He estimates the cost at around 250 billion tomans, claiming it can be fully financed by the project itself. He has lofty ambitions and underestimates the difficulties of implementation and land acquisition. He also expects his confiscated properties to be returned. I suggested he meet with the mayor and governor of Qom and report back with the results.

Today, a Palestinian fighter blew himself up on a bus carrying Zionists in northern Tel Aviv, killing six people and injuring thirty. Israel used tear gas to attack a girls' school, causing some students to suffocate. The official organ of the Vatican protested against the Israeli flag. Criticism of America's unilateral policies is growing, and the Nobel Peace Prize winner Frisch Stern says the idea of American immunity has been destroyed.

The Commonwealth countries suspended Zimbabwe's membership for one year in protest against the quality of its [presidential] elections. Talks between Europe and the U.S. in Geneva regarding the tariffs imposed by America on steel imports ended without result, and Europe, Russia, China, and Japan have all announced they will counter this decision by America. Japan has created a robot resembling a human.

After the conclusion of [Anthony] Zinni's [former U.S. CENTCOM commander and special envoy to the Middle East] trip to Palestine, a negotiation session between Israeli security forces and the Palestinian Authority was held but yielded no results. The U.S. and its allies continue to try to quell the Intifada, a goal Zinni was pursuing, but he failed.

France and Turkey have started efforts to compel Iraq to accept the return of UN inspectors. Recently, [UN Secretary-General] Kofi Annan met with [Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister] Tariq Aziz for this purpose. [Iraqi President] Saddam [Hussein] is resisting. Many believe that if military action seems inevitable, Saddam may give in at the last moment, so the U.S. continues its threats despite opposition from other governments.

U.S. congressmen, with the support of the U.S. State Department, have begun efforts to separate the Iranian people from the Islamic system. Overall, U.S. policy since September 11 has focused on weakening Islam, and its open policy is to incite Muslim populations against fundamentalist forces.

In Afghanistan, an attack on a U.S. military camp in Khost killed and injured several people, and an American military helicopter crashed, though reports claim there were no casualties. The UK has been forced to send an additional 1,600 troops to Afghanistan, despite pressure from the public, the Conservative Party, and half of the Labour MPs to avoid cooperating with the U.S. in an attack on Iraq.

Ayatollah Khamenei's explicit opposition to negotiations with the U.S. has put both America and the reformists in a difficult position. A few days ago, Mr. [Abdollah] Ramezanzadeh, the government spokesman, responded to a proposal by the chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee about negotiations with Iranian parliamentarians, saying the government is in favor of negotiations at the level of parliament members and that no one has prohibited it. The leadership's opposition has embarrassed them; perhaps if the matter hadn’t been politicized for use against their rivals, this opposition wouldn’t have arisen.

The presidents of Egypt and Russia, in a joint statement, accepted Crown Prince Abdullah’s [of Saudi Arabia] plan and opposed American military action against Iran and Iraq.

Thank God, I have succeeded in recording the important events of the year 1380 [March 2001-March 2002] in this calendar. With the completion of this year’s notes, 21 volumes, spanning from 1981 to 2001, containing significant historical issues of our country and important world events recorded daily, are now available to history. I am grateful for this divine success and hope to be granted the opportunity to publish them as well. So far, the years 1981 and 1982 have been published and have been widely welcomed and utilized.