Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi - August 2, 2001 - One-on-One Meeting with Ayatollah Khamenei

Meeting with Ahmadreza Jalali Naeini and consulting on the establishment of a cultural institution.

Consultative meeting with Mohammadreza Mokhber Dezfuli regarding the empowerment of the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council and the Supervisory Commission of the Expediency Discernment Council.

Meeting with members of the Tehran Friday Prayer Headquarters.

The most important meeting today is the one-on-one meeting with Ayatollah Khamenei, covering the following topics:

1. Consultation about the composition of Seyed Mohammad Khatami's cabinet.
2. The Commander-in-Chief's order to the Air Force to evacuate investors in the oil region within the territory of Azerbaijan, which led to repercussions.
3. Sheikh Mehdi Karroubi's request for the pardon of Sheikh Abdollah Nouri and Ayatollah Khamenei's condition that Nouri must renounce his previous statements and possibly his defenses in the Special Court for Clergy.
4. The ongoing conflict between the Sixth Majlis and the head of the judiciary over the jurists of the Guardian Council and the possibility of referral to the Expediency Discernment Council, which has indeed occurred.

Full Text of the Daily Entry:

Dr. [Ahmadreza] Jalali [Naeini] came. He had proposals regarding the establishment of a cultural institution to defend construction efforts and respond to false allegations and questions that arose during my youth and before my clerical studies. He mentioned that he sees signs of an organized effort by the enemies of the revolution to weaken us.

Mr. [Mohammadreza] Mokhber [Dezfuli], the head of the Supervisory Commission of the Expediency Discernment Council, came. He had questions about the draft regulations for oversight and discussed the extensive efforts of the left to eliminate or weaken the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council and proposed solutions to this issue. In the evening, members of the Tehran Friday Prayer Headquarters came. Mr. [Javad] Maqsudi, [the head of the headquarters], provided a report, and I spoke about Friday prayers and offered some recommendations.

In the evening, I was a guest of the Leader. We discussed the upcoming cabinet and the issue of the Alborz oil region in the Caspian Sea, which Iran claims as its share, while [the Republic of] Azerbaijan has assigned it to Western companies. Following the Leader’s order, the Iranian Air Force has prevented their operations and they have departed from the site, raising the possibility of future incidents. They mentioned that Mr. [Mehdi] Karroubi, [the Speaker of the Majlis], has discussed the pardon for Mr. Abdollah Nouri, [the former Minister of Interior and editor of Khordad newspaper], and he responded that Mr. Nouri needs to rectify the inappropriate comments he has made. The leaders of the Majlis have requested that Mr. [Seyyed Mahmoud] Hashemi Shahrudi, [the head of the judiciary], increase the number of proposed jurists for the Guardian Council by three; he has refused, and the issue remains unresolved, potentially escalating to the Expediency Discernment Council.

[Abdulrahman] Wahid, the President of Indonesia, is still at the presidential palace, considering himself the legitimate president. Ms. [Megawati] Sukarnoputri, [the president elected by the parliament], also claims her work to be legitimate. In Pakistan, floods have caused significant devastation and casualties.