Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – August 29, 1996

Akhvi Mohammad, [executive vice president], came for the affairs of reconstruction and regulation of the market and fight against smuggling. [Mr. Abbas Akhundi], the Minister of Housing and [Urban Development, Gholamhossein Karbaschi], the Mayor of Tehran and [Asadullah] Lajordi, the head [of the] Prisons [Organization], came to the city for the transfer of Evin Prison and Qasr Prison. It was decided to build a prison with the necessary standards on Saveh road and hand over the lands of these prisons to the government.

Intelligence officers came to foreign bases. Mr. [Ali] Falahian, [Information Minister] reported and I also explained the country's policies such as prioritizing the interests of the system over the interests of the movements abroad, the need to strengthen the system and the country and not give excuses to the enemies, and that with strength, independence and internal credibility, we can present our thoughts better, and I explained to them the current conditions of the world and the region.

In the evening, the government board had a meeting. The budget deficit was investigated as a result of new decisions to raise the salaries of government employees. About 400 billion tomans is the cost of new decisions, which has increased the salary of employees by more than fifty percent.

We went to the Nihad [Presidential] club to meet artists, press and reporters. Mr. [Syed Mustafa] Mirslim, [Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance], [Hussein] Shariatmadari, [Director of Kihan Newspaper], [Mahmoud] Shahrakhi, [Contemporary Poet], [Hussein] Mirkhani, [Calligraphy Master] and [Jamshid] Mashaykhi, [Cinema Actor] spoke. Mr. Mashayikhi presented the letter of cinema greats as a thank you. They have seen the Tehran subway project and were impressed by the greatness of the construction. They have signed a tablet. Some have written interesting sentences. I also gave a speech and explained the necessity of coordinating the cultural and livelihood affairs of the people - this world and the hereafter - and the policies of the revolution. They were my guests for dinner. At the dinner table, they introduced themselves to the guests and thanked them. It was a sincere meeting.

At the end of the night, Ashikh Mohammad [Hashemian] and Ahmad and cousins ​​came. They complained about the [policy-making] council of Friday imams and leadership with Ashikh Muhammad regarding the Rafsanjan issues, and I said that they are right; Ashikh Mohammad has gone fast and it is expedient to leave the conflict.