Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi - July 1, 2001 - Extremely Important Bilateral Meeting with Ayatollah Khamenei and His Opinions Regarding the Permission for Investigation into IRIB

Visitation by Hashemi to Ali Rahmani, a former member of the Revolutionary Guards and his previous bodyguard, and Hashemi's deep sorrow upon seeing him, to the extent that he also mentioned the chemical effects leading to the martyrdom of these veterans, especially Ali Rahmani, in a meeting with the German ambassador.

Complaints by Seyyed Mohammad Asghari, former head of the Kayhan Institute and ambassador of the Islamic Republic in Bulgaria, about the misleading reports by the Ministry of Intelligence against him.

Hearing the report from Sheikh Ismail Fardousipour during the meeting with the families of the July 7 martyrs and complaints from Ab Khazr regarding the children of Ayatollah Beheshti for holding a separate ceremony, as well as complaints from Sheikh Javad Ajei about the dissolution of the National Organization for the Development of Talents.

Meeting with Asghar Ebrahimi Asal and complaints about Ishaq Jahangiri for restructuring the IDRO and requesting a swift issuance of the decree for Akbar Turkani.

Extremely Important Bilateral Meeting with Ayatollah Khamenei and His Opinions Regarding the Permission for Investigation into IRIB and His Unexpected View of the Aggressive Spirit of Reformists Following Khatami’s Success in the Presidential Election, and the Matter of Lifting the House Arrest on Ayatollah Montazeri and His New Memoirs.

Full Text of the Daily Entry:

I visited Mr. Ali Rahmani, my former bodyguard. He is suffering from the effects of chemical exposure during the war; he has been coughing up blood from his lungs. They have told him that several dark spots in his lungs have increased in size, causing bleeding. He feels he is nearing the end of his life, but he has a good spirit. He believes there is no difference in treatment inside and outside the country. I was very affected by this.

[Mr. Rüdiger Riles], the German ambassador, came to visit. I told him about Mr. Rahmani and emphasized that Germany is culpable in equipping Iraq with chemical weapons [during the Iran-Iraq War], and with the experiences it has in treating chemical victims from World War II, it should help effectively in treating Iranian chemical victims to make amends for its wrongdoing. I also warned that many victims have died recently, and each martyrdom is like a bomb in Iran-Germany relations because the Iranian people know that Germany helped Iraq. He accepted that German companies, contrary to Germany's policy, provided technical assistance to Iraq for building chemical weapons and were penalized. He promised that Germany's experience would be used for treatment. I mentioned that the Mykonos trial and the Berlin conference had a destructive role in relations, and the Americans were influential in this action against Germany.

Mr. [Seyyed Mohammad] Asghari, the ambassador of Iran to Bulgaria, came to visit. He expressed concern about the country’s situation and the government's weakness in solving unemployment, economic, and political issues, and complained about the Ministry of Intelligence regarding the dissemination of false accusations against him and the lack of redress.

In the afternoon, the families of the July 7 martyrs came to visit. Mr. [Ismail] Fardousipour, [head of the July 7 incident memorial committee], reported, and I spoke about the role of these martyrs in the victory of the revolution and how their martyrdom helped stabilize the revolution. Mr. [Asghar] Ab Khazr, [deputy of the Islamic Propagation Coordination Council], complained about the children of martyr Beheshti, who have separated their accounts from the official ceremonies and held a separate event at the Hosseiniyeh Irshad, inviting inappropriate individuals. Mr. [Javad] Ajei, [chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Organization for the Development of Talents], complained about the potential elimination of outstanding talent programs.

Mr. Asghar Ebrahimi, [former managing director of the Metro Company], came from the Organization for the Development [and Modernization of Industries of Iran]. He gave a report on research projects and complained about [Mr. Ishaq Jahangiri], the Minister of Industries. He said that Jahangiri has assigned a committee to reform the structure of the Development Organization, and they want to limit the organization, and they have still not issued a decree for [Mr. Akbar] Turkani, [head of the Development Organization] after the merger.

At night, I was a guest of the leadership. We discussed the implications of the response to Mr. [Mahdi] Karrubi’s letter, [the Speaker of the Parliament], interpreting it as a retreat and a weakening of the morale of his friends. He does not agree and said it would reduce their insidious pressure; moreover, since the investigation is ultimately conditional on the leader's permission, it makes no difference; but he acknowledges that contrary to his expectations, the left has taken an aggressive stance after the elections. He thought that the left would act from a position of weakness.

The issues related to [the investigation of the] IRIB and the amendment of the law governing the IRIB and reducing its budget, and amplifying the condemnation of Mr. [Hosein] Luqmanian, the representative from Hamadan, and the renewed discussion of the chain murders are part of these matters, but from his perspective, the most important negative issue is the matter of Ayatollah [Hosseinali] Montazeri. He believes that their intention is to create a public and practical center for opposing the leadership by lifting the house arrest on Mr. Montazeri. He said that Mr. Montazeri has recently prepared a supplement to his memoirs for publication, which is very bad.