Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – July 2, 2003

Mr. Ali Younesi, the Minister of Intelligence, came. He is upset about the Supreme Leader's expression of concern regarding the ministry's performance in the recent riots and defends himself. I mentioned some of the Leader's objections that were raised last night, including the lack of follow-up on the role of some members of the Mosharekat Party, the Office for Consolidating Unity, and the representatives, as well as some ambiguities I have myself. He acknowledged that the insistence of some Second of Khordad figures on transferring prisoners from the IRGC to the Ministry of Intelligence fuels these suspicions.

Mr. Seyyed Mohammad Asghari, the former ambassador to Bulgaria, came. He spoke about the weaknesses of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and consulted about participating in the upcoming parliamentary elections. Mr. Hassan Danaie-Far, the deputy secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council, came. While presenting a report on the relief efforts of the IRGC Quds Force in Iraq and Palestine, he said that he now accepts my view that the U.S. is getting bogged down in a quagmire in Iraq.

Mr. Gholamreza Hassani, the Friday prayer leader of Urmia, came. He gave a report on the negative activities of a group of students and said that individuals from Iraq had offered to sell helicopters and some other items to him; I told Mr. Danaie-Far to follow up on this to uncover the truth. Mr. Hassani asked me to run for the presidency.

Mr. Mehdi Karbasian, the Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance, came. He said that there would be a budget deficit of about five thousand billion tomans in the current year and explained the disagreements between Mr. Mohammad Sattari-Far, the head of the Management and Planning Organization, and Dr. Mohammad Reza Aref, the First Vice President, and Aref's indifference. He said that Mr. Ebrahim Sheibani, the head of the Central Bank, is even stricter than Mr. Mohsen Nourbakhsh, and that in Islamic Banking meetings, he has realized that Arab countries are not friends of Iran.

In the evening, Mr. Eshaq Jahangiri, the Minister of Industries and Mines, came. He expressed happiness about the Supreme Leader's new views on attracting domestic and foreign investment, strengthening the private sector, and accepting membership in the World Trade Organization. Foreign policy and domestic political issues were discussed.

Mr. Reza Amrollahi, the Deputy Minister of Energy, came. He emphasized his opposition to accepting the Additional Protocol 2+93 and to returning the spent fuel from the Bushehr nuclear power plant to Russia.

In Iraq, there have been widespread demonstrations in Fallujah against the U.S. The Americans have claimed that the explosion at the Al-Hassan Mosque in Fallujah was due to an explosion of explosives. In Western political circles, there is much concern about a repeat of the Vietnam scenario in Iraq, and the BBC is also fueling this. Israel has withdrawn from part of the city of Bethlehem in the West Bank.