Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – February 26, 1999

I was at home. At nine o'clock in the morning in Hosseinieh Jamaran, I voted for the council elections and gave a short interview. A group of children went to Abali. Mr. [Syed Mohammad Khatami], the president, came at eleven o'clock and we had detailed negotiations. He gave explanations about the issues of the Ministry of Information and [Mr. Ali Younisi], the new minister, and said that he has accepted the conditions. He said, one of the killers - Sadegh [Mahdavi = Mehrdad Alikhani] - his father [Ali Asghar] Alikhani and his uncle were among the agents of the [Pahlavi] regime and Israel, and his family is Alikhani.

It was reported that the United States has opposed giving a loan to the International Fund and has been excluded for the time being, and is worried about the possibility of straining relations with Saudi Arabia. The recent statements of Amir Abdullah, [Crown of Saudi Arabia] to Mr. Abdullah Nouri, regarding the Al-Khobar explosion, angered Ayatollah Khamenei and they oppose Mr. Khatami's trip to Saudi Arabia. He is worried that the leadership will say something against Saudi Arabia in their statements. He said, he is determined about traveling to Italy; Although 320 members of the Italian parliament have declared their opposition.

He expressed satisfaction with Ayatollah Khamenei's cooperation regarding the Ministry of Intelligence and the recent murders, and expressed concern about the country's economic situation. I advised him not to let the relations with Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Azerbaijan worsen and warm up more with Turkmenistan. I warned him to prevent his brother [Mohammed] Reza [Khatami] from opposing the works of the Special Diseases Foundation.

At noon, Fazeh came and had lunch with me. He said that the polling stations in Tehran are quiet and in the city, according to reports of Zan newspaper reporters, it is good. He gave a report on his lecture sessions at Khwaja Nasir Tusi University and Mashhad University and the conflict between Hezbollah and the opposition in the Mashhad meeting. He wanted some of the printing works of my books to be given to Zan newspaper.

In the reports, there is news of the beginning of fighting and sometimes shooting in some polling areas, including in Bahar Hamedan and Kangavar villages and some cities of Khuzestan, etc. One person was killed in Bijar and the people of Jajarm did not vote as a protest to merge with Garmeh.