Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – July 14, 2003

Mr. Seyyed Ahmad Mousavi, advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, came. He spoke about the programs he has in Iran and Lebanon. Mr. Ali Fathollahzadeh came. He has resigned from the management of the Esteghlal club. He believes that the Mosharekat Party has plans to take over there.

Mr. Hossein Kamali, the head of the Grain Organization and a former minister, came. He said that people's dissatisfaction has increased and that political, cultural, social, and economic measures should be taken to gain people's satisfaction.

In the evening, Mr. Mohammad Ali Taskhiri, the Secretary-General of the World Assembly for the Approximation of Islamic Schools of Thought, and guests participating in the meeting of the committee examining the challenges of the Islamic world came. They are studying for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. They are 20 scientific and cultural figures from Islamic countries and have identified about 20 challenges and solutions. Several of them spoke, and I also spoke about the strengths of the Islamic world and solutions to deal with the challenges, saying that the current century could be the century of Islam.

Messrs. Reza and Mohsen Hashemian came. They said that if a preferential loan is not given to the Pistachio Producers and Exporters Cooperative in Rafsanjan, the export and agriculture of pistachios will be seriously damaged. They believe that Mr. Khatami wants to help, but Mr. Tahmasb Mazaheri, the Minister of Economy, is preventing it.

It was announced that today, 17 American soldiers were wounded in several operations in Iraq, and one died; they probably don't report the actual number of casualties. A car bomb exploded next to the joint U.S.-British military headquarters in Baghdad; its casualties were not reported.

The scandal of the lie about buying uranium from Niger has spread to Italy. The U.S. said the source of the news was Britain, and Britain says Italy provided the information, but the Italian government denies it, although the Italian parliament has asked the government for an explanation.

Belgium has retreated under U.S. pressure and announced that it will repeal the law allowing the trial of foreign nationals in Belgium. Based on this, cases had been built against Bush, Tony Blair, and Ariel Sharon. A few years ago, an Iranian dual national had also filed a lawsuit against me in a Belgian court; because there was no evidence and Iran also protested, they backed down.

The final test of the Shahab-3 missile has caused a lot of noise, and Westerners have expressed concern about the possibility of Shahab-4, 5, and 6 missiles. Zionist media are fueling it. The debate over joining the Additional Protocol 2+93 is still hot, and the Kayhan editorial, which wrote that Iran should withdraw from the NPT, has fueled it. News has arrived that inside the IAEA, there is a view that Iran should not be pressured because it intends to withdraw from the NPT.