Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – December 6, 1997

Mr. [Ali] Larijani, [Head of Radio and Television Organization] came first. He expressed concern about the refusal of some of the important leaders of Islamic countries to attend Tehran, such as Morocco, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Brunei, in addition to Jordan, all of whom had already been announced to come, and the possibility that in the next two or three days, other people will join them, and he sought a solution.

In the meeting of the council [identification of the expediency of the system], another number of topics that need to be determined in the general policy in the education and research sector were identified. I warned that there should not be a situation where the hands of the parliament and the government are tied in decisions and in any case, there is a suspicion of opposition to the leadership's approvals.

In the afternoon, Dr. [Hasan] Rouhani and [Ali] Larijani came and raised the same concerns raised by Mr. Larijani. They suggested that I or Mr. Khatami should contact them or at least think about the others so that they are not added. They give less risk to first-class guests. It was agreed that they will investigate and after consulting, they will provide a way. Today's editorial was published by the Islamic Republic newspaper, which insulted some of the leaders of the Islamic countries and may be objected to in today's meeting of the foreign ministers and become an excuse for others not to attend.

Mr. Zanganeh [Oil Minister] came to explain the reason for the increase in the OPEC oil production ceiling, which caused the price of oil to drop; The summary is that Saudi Arabia exerted influence and although most of them agree that they are doing harm, they voted.

In the evening Mr. [Yahya] Rahim Safavi, [commander-in-chief of the army] came. He gave a report on measures for the security and order of the summit of the Organization of Islamic Conference and expressed concern about the consequences of Ayatollah Montazeri's issue and said that the follow-up of the issue has been entrusted to the Supreme Council of National Security and is under the direction of the Secretariat.

Mr. [Mortaza] Alveiri came. He expressed concern about the country's economic stagnation and said that it has spread to the free areas and reduced investment, and the cause of this is the problem of windfall wealth and the government's decisions. He expressed his concern about the situation of leadership and people's concerns and the possibility of greater separation between the leadership and the people.