Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – August 2, 2003

I was at home. I spent a lot of time studying the deliberations of the Revolutionary Council to remember the issues of those days.

In one of the southern cities of Russia, a truck carrying explosives exploded next to a military hospital, leaving 36 dead and 76 injured due to the collapse of the four-story hospital building. Chechens have denied carrying out this act.

In Lebanon, two people were killed in the explosion of a car belonging to a Hezbollah member. Hezbollah has said it will take revenge on Israel. In Iraq, attacks on American soldiers and retaliatory actions by the U.S. continue.

The UN Security Council has approved the sending of international peacekeeping forces to Liberia, and the U.S. has used this opportunity to include a clause exempting its forces from prosecution at the International Criminal Court, due to the need for American assistance.

Mohsen, the CEO and Chairman of the Metro Company, reported on the tender for Tehran Metro Lines 3 and 4, with foreign financing and 51% domestic construction. He mentioned the possible winning of China and an Iranian company and criticized the divisive content in the mourning ceremonies for Hazrat Fatimah (SA).

Effat, who had gone to a mourning ceremony at Mrs. Naghash's house last night, said that the attendees were mostly Iraqis and had a lot of news about what is happening in Iraq. One of the issues for Iraqis living outside Iraq is how to access the property they left behind, which they have been unaware of for years. Some cases have been confiscated and have passed from hand to hand, and they are also unaware of the fate of their imprisoned relatives, whose burial places are often unknown.

This afternoon, a protest gathering was held against the parliament's approval of the convention on eliminating discrimination against women at the Feyziyeh School in Qom, similar to yesterday's event, with slogans and speeches.

The bodies of Uday and Qusay and Qusay's 14-year-old son were buried in their ancestral village of Al-Awja near Tikrit, and Americans prevented the people from attending. Only a small number were present. Another audio tape with the voice of Saddam has been broadcast on Al Jazeera.

For several days, a rumor has been circulating that Seyyed Hussein Khomeini, the son of Ayatollah Seyyed Mostafa and grandson of Imam Khomeini, has gone to Iraq and is seeking to fight against the system of Iran. Today, an interview with him was also published in a newspaper on this matter. He had opposition in the early years of the revolution.