Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – December 9, 1996

Mr. [Syed Hossein] Mousavian, our ambassador in Germany, came. He gave a report on the issues related to the recent crisis between Iran and Germany and said that the German authorities insist that my answer should not be published because it is offensive and puts pressure on the prosecutor. Contrary to their opinion, I argued that it ended in favor of Iran. The market regulation headquarters had a meeting. The issues of export and distribution, punishments and tea, and the problem of cars imported from Iraq were discussed.

In the evening, we went to Hosseiniyeh Ershad for the opening of the international Quran memorization, recitation and interpretation competitions. In the program, a thirteen-year-old girl named Nasreen Jafari, who memorized the entire Quran, performed the program, which was very interesting and answered my and others' questions well. In his notebook, I encouraged him with sentences. Mr. [Syed Mehdi] Imam Jamarani, [Head of Endowments and Charitable Affairs Organization], welcomed me and I also spoke about the important role of the Quran in guiding the society and the individual.

I returned to my office. I did the work until half past seven. I did not go to the government meeting. I was a guest of the leader at dinner. We talked about the trip to Yasouj and the Tehran-North highway, German and Iraqi issues, the establishment of the African Development Foundation, the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, and the Expediency Council. They informed that Mr. [Mehdi] Karroubi met with them and got permission to possibly nominate Mr. [Syed Mohammad] Khatami from the Assembly of Fighting Clergymen. I also explained the process of the meeting between Mr. [Syed Mohammad Mousavi] Khoyini and Mr. [Mohammed Reza] Tausli. We talked a bit about our pre-revolution memories. He remembers more details than I do, about his time as a roommate in Tehran and accompanying him on visits to Mashhad and prisons.