Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – April 13, 1997

[Mr. Abbas Akhundi], Minister of Housing and [Urban Development] and [Mr. Gholamhossein Karbaschi], Mayor of Tehran came. They explained the plan of the conference center of Tehran municipality [in Milad Tower] and said that its meeting hall can meet the needs of the conference programs of heads of Islamic countries. The mayor said that he can complete that part by October. demanded the amount of 12 million dollars in currency; I agreed, but the Minister of Housing has become passive and is thinking of another plan.

The market regulation headquarters had a meeting. The report on prices, despite raising the price of fuel and labor wages, reports the calmness of the market, which is strange. There was a discussion about the quota of export currencies.

In the evening Mr. [Bijan Namdar Zanganeh], Minister of Energy came. In order to get the credits of the Maroon Dam in the first months of the year, he applied for its preparation and reported that there is a defect in the dam, that a large amount of water is leaking from one of the diversion tunnels, which must be repaired after the water drops. [Engineer] The consultant made a mistake.

I was the guest of the leader. We talked about the issues and the possibility of events after the Mykonos court. He does not agree that the matter will reach the sanctions against Iran in the Security Council with the invasion of the United States, but I do not consider the possibility of that to be low. But there was a consensus regarding the position we should take. We talked about the elections and Ayatollah Montazeri's letter to me [about the jurisprudential issue of sacrifice in Mina by Shia pilgrims and coordination with Saudi Arabian authorities in this regard] and the good treatment of the Russians during the visit of Mr. [Ali Akbar] Natiq [Nuri, Speaker of the Islamic Council] regarding the uproar of the West. Regarding the formation of Africa Foundation, he agrees as a government company.

Today, the most important global issue is the publicity related to the verdict of the Mykonos court. On the phone, I asked Mr. Velayati, [Minister of Foreign Affairs], to follow up on the issue of the negotiations with Tajikistan, which have run into problems and have been stopped, and I also asked for an explanation about the reason for not following up on the issue of how to conduct the acquittal ceremony in Makkah - which was agreed upon between me and Amir Abdullah; There was no correct answer. I told Dr. [Mohammed Ali] Najafi, [Minister of Education] to hand over the building of Sinai Hospital. I went to my office to sleep. I slept late.