Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – April 6, 1989

At eight in the morning, I arrived at the headquarters [of the General Forces]. Timsar [Ali] Shahbazi [Chief of the Army General Staff] said something about Dezhban and Sepehr. Timsar [Mustafa] Turabi [Head of the Army Information Protection Organization] came. He gave a report on the arrest of American spies and royalists and asked for more cars. Mr. [Ali] Razini [Head of the Judiciary Organization of the Armed Forces] came and told the reason for the arrest and release of Mr. [Mohammed] Kothari [Commander of the 27th Division of Hazrat Rasool (PBUH)]. It was decided to take more care in this direction in the future. He explained Bahrami's case and said that since he was just convicted, it is better to delay his pardon. Mr. [Syed Hasan] Taheri Khorramabadi asked the Imam to forgive him, and the Imam has deferred to the opinion of the court.

Mr. [Ali] Hosseini Tash came with a group of industrial researchers. They gave explanations about the work of the IRGC and asked for the permission of the IRGC to operate in other sectors. I said that things should be done centrally. It was decided to investigate further.

Dr. [Hasan] Firouzabadi came. There were many issues about the work of the headquarters and troops that were decided. At noon, Mr. [Alireza] Afshar came. He brought up the lack of powers and facilities of the General Staff's Human Resources Deputy and made suggestions to solve them.

At three o'clock, we left for Jihad Construction Research Center on Karaj Road and I was there until seven forty-five minutes. I visited various research departments of military industries, especially rockets; They have done basic work. They have laid a solid foundation for the rocket industry. Currently, they have made a missile with a range of 140 km. All its components are self-made. They have also created a good armored personnel carrier. An interview was conducted and I gave a short speech to the staff.

I reached the parliament at a quarter past eight. The central council [community] of militant clergy [Tehran] had a meeting in my office. Ayatollah Montazeri's issue was on the agenda. Mr. Khamenei and I explained the matter to them as it happened. They had doubts that were resolved and a decision was made for the quality of dealing with the issue. We discussed about the future leadership and we came to the conclusion that the imam should lead the matter. My presidency was negotiated. I came home late. Ahmad's brother and his family were here.