Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – April 4, 1998

Haj Agha Mehdi Hayari Tehrani, the Friday prayer leader of the Ark Mosque, came with his son-in-law. He praised the trip to Saudi Arabia and the important effects it will have in the country and the Islamic world, and also the important work of establishing Islamic Azad University. He praised my memoirs book [of the struggle period] a lot and explained about his cultural work in Qom, Tehran, and Mashhad, including the establishment of an Islamic Azad University branch in Qolhak, and asked me to tell Dr. Abdollah Jasbi to pay more attention to him. He sought assistance for his son-in-law's return to the Ministry of Oil.

Dr. Majid Abbaspour, the President's advisor on science and technology, came. He gave a report on the state of CBRN [chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense] industries and the manner of joining the Chemical Disarmament Commission and the measures devised, and said that the new method of consultation in the presidency is not effective and is a waste of time.

Mr. Morteza Alviri, the Secretary of the Supreme Council of Free and Special Economic Zones, came. He spoke about the prosperity of the free zones due to the economic recession in the country and the necessity of activating the banks there, and expressed concern about the decline of the Leader's credibility in society and considered it dangerous. He asked me to state the situation clearly to him. He considers the solution to be the councilization of the leadership and also considers the removal of restrictions from Ayatollah Montazeri necessary. He believed that the Supreme National Security Council had approved the removal of the restrictions, but Ayatollah Khamenei had not accepted it, and I said that incorrect news had been given to him; the council had approved that the restrictions continue. He said that Mr. Abdollah Nouri, the Minister of Interior, had told him this!!

Before noon, Mr. Khatami, the President, informed by telephone that Mr. Karbaschi, the Mayor of Tehran, had been temporarily arrested by court order on charges of embezzlement, and he sought consultation for action and said that he had asked for an explanation from the Leader's office, and Mr. Seyyed Ali Asghar Hejazi had said that he had told Mr. Ali Razini the Leader's opinion and emphasized that the Leader's opinion had not changed and the prohibition of arrest, in the absence of personal misuse, remains in force. It was arranged that the Leader's office itself would follow up to solve the problem.

At noon Mr. Khatami called again and said that Mr. Hejazi had replied that Mr. Ali Razini, the Head of the Judiciary of Tehran Province, says that Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, the Head of the Judiciary, had informed him that the Leadership had lifted their prohibition and the court had acted on this basis, and nothing more could be done except by explicit order of the Leadership. It was arranged that he and I would speak with the Leadership. In response to my telephone call, the Leader's office said that he is resting and we should call at five-thirty; they had said the same to Mr. Khatami.

I spoke with Mr. Mohammad Yazdi. He said that he had not heard anything about the new opinion of the Leadership and that he had previously conveyed the same opinion of the Leadership to Mr. Razini, and he no longer knows what has happened. The afternoon newspapers and radio and television published the news of [Mr. Karbaschi's] arrest. In the afternoon Mr. Seyyed Hossein Marashi came and sought consultation. I said we are waiting for the Leadership's answer.

Mr. Abdolhamid Bagheri Bonabi, the representative of Tabriz, came. He said he had wished to be with me in Mecca, which unfortunately did not happen, and said that he had met with the clerics and sources of emulation in Qom; Mr. Mohammad Fazel [Lankarani] and Mr. Seyyed Abdolkarim Mousavi Ardabili were upset with the Leadership, especially because of the issue of Ayatollah Montazeri and his fatwa regarding the Imam's share, and said that the election issue and also the interference of his office in the Tabriz elections and the pressure on Mahmoud Ali Chehregani to resign and preventing Heydar Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, from coming to Tabriz and so on have caused the weakening of the Leadership. He asked me to help solve these problems and asked me to help Mr. Khatami. He said that he had supported Mr. Ali Akbar Nateq Nouri in the elections, so Mr. Khatami is also not good with him.

Mr. Ali Abdolalizadeh, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, and his deputies came. They gave a report on the works and plans. They hope that by activating the housing sector, employment will also prosper. He praised the works of the Construction government and said that, given the availability of materials and the need, this year they are building 70 thousand small houses for rent and have solved the problem of tower-building in Tehran.

Early in the evening, Mr. Seyyed Hossein Marashi, the representative of Kerman, came again. He said that they had had a meeting with the left faction and it had been decided that the Kargozaran [Construction] Party and other groups would also protest [against Mr. Karbaschi's arrest], and they had asked Mr. Khatami to hold an emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers tonight. Mr. Khatami called and said that he did not consider it advisable to act hastily. It will be raised at tomorrow's Council of Ministers meeting. He was complaining about the Leader's office that they had not told the truth, and he is upset that Mr. Yazdi says no new opinion from the Leadership has been conveyed to him and Mr. Hejazi says that he had told Mr. Yazdi. My brother Mohammad, the Deputy Executive of the President, also came, [saying] that an action should be taken for the mayor.