Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – April 21, 1992

I reached my office at nine o'clock in the morning. Until ten o'clock, I reviewed the newspapers of several days of travel. [Mr. Ali Akbar Velayati, Mohammad Saeedi Kia and Mohsen Nourbakhsh], the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Roads and Transport, and Economic Affairs and Finance, came to solve the issue of construction of the Sarkhs-Mashhad railway, which has no implementation validity in the current year's budget; I agreed to pay for it from other sources. It was decided that the Minister of Roads and Transport should take action, because the Corps is its contractor; It has machines and currency is not needed for now.

[Mr. Ali Akbar Velayati], the Minister of Foreign Affairs, gave a report on his trip to Kuwait and talks with the Omanis, regarding the UAE's objection to restricting Sharjah residents in Abu Musa. He said that the Americans have sent a message through Switzerland that they want to consult with Iran about Afghanistan issues. I told them to answer the message and express Iran's opinions. There is no need to negotiate.

Mr. [Mohsen] Noorbakhsh, [Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance] came. He is going to travel to Paris and New York. Consulted for negotiations and positions. Mr. Jalal Talabani, [Leader of the Patriotic Front of Iraqi Kurdistan], along with Mohsen Rezaei, [Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and [Ahmed] Wahidi, [Commander of the IRGC Quds Force] came. He asked for help for the economic needs of the people of Iraqi Kurdistan. He said that all the industries are closed and agriculture in the villages is half closed and people are unemployed and in need and the works of the city are also paralyzed. It was decided to help start cement, cigarette, and fabric factories, buy the products, and open the border roads so that they can prevent Iran's anti-revolutionary sabotage operations. He said that politically, their goal is to create a unified democratic Iraq; I said, if so, we also agree. He said frankly that they do not want the independence of Kurdistan or even autonomy. We agreed that efforts should be made to rule the opposition with the aim of democratizing Iraq. He also expressed distrust towards Türkiye and Westerners. He expressed concern about the rumor of reconciliation between Syria and Iraq based on the unity of the two countries.

Mr. [Ali Agha] Mohammadi, [responsible for the Iraq Issues Review Committee] came. He asked for an opinion on the future plan of Iraq. He is supposed to be responsible for the affairs of Iraqis. Fati came and asked for help for the kindergarten of female employees. In the evening, the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution had a meeting. In this meeting, the establishment of the "Supreme Youth Council" and a secretariat for it was approved.