Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – August 16, 1984

Early in the morning, I started the public session of the parliament. I left [chairing the meeting] to Mr. Rabbani Amlashi and went to my office. I was tired I read the reports. The most important issue in the world is the laying of mines in the Suez Canal and the arrival of American, English, French and Italian forces to clean up the waters of the Red Sea. Iran is also accused. Their goal may be to put pressure on us. Even though we are not involved [in laying mines] and maybe they really think we are.

In the afternoon, I rested a lot. Mr. Sayad Shirazi came and said something about the operation; They have no understanding with the army. I am worried that if the Sayad plan is implemented, the IRGC will not cooperate effectively, and if we implement the IRGC plan, the army will not cooperate well. In operation, both need each other and are loyal. But the decisions of the department are not ineffective and today this duality is the problem of our military forces.

In the evening, I did the remaining work. I talked with [Mr. Mirhossein Mousavi] the Prime Minister and [Ayatollah Khamenei] the President about the new ministers.

Akhvi Mohammad [head of the Broadcasting Organization] said on the phone that Mr. Emami Kashani gave an interview. Indirectly and implicitly, he answered my statements in the parliament about the scope of the Guardian Council's powers. I said it is better to broadcast. Ahmad Agha was also talked about. He was upset about the interview, but he confirmed my opinion in the broadcast. Tehran's electricity was cut off today. [Mr. Hassan Ghafouri Fard] Minister of Energy said, the Neka power plant [in Mazandaran province] was disabled due to the storm.