Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – July 21, 1981

At 9 a.m., I went to Parliament and read the reports. The previous night, shots had been fired at Mr. [Ali Akbar] Nateq-Nouri’s car. The driver was wounded, and no one else had been in the car. Dr. [Hassan] Rouhani, a member of the Supervisory Council of the Radio and Television Organization, had also been involved in a car accident and was hospitalized, but had not sustained any serious injuries. Mr. Fazel, the representative from Babol, came and asked for help with security arrangements.

Dr. [Yadollah] Sahabi, Engineer [Mehdi] Bazargan, and Dr. [Kazem] Sami came and asked for the release of the Mizan newspaper. Dr. Sami was upset that the premises of JAMĀ [Movement of Muslims of Iran], which had been illegally in his possession for two years, was now being charged rent of fifty thousand tomans per month by the Revolutionary Court, and he asked for help. He said that Keyhan would not print his newspaper. I told them that they needed to make their position clear. It was not right to accommodate the armed opposition groups, echo them, and then demand their release. They complained that Hezbollah members had insulted them at the memorial service for Mrs. Shariati and asked me to prevent Hezbollah from engaging in such conduct. I told them that these actions by Hezbollah were a reaction to the rebellion of the forces who were their allies.

In the afternoon, Dr. Sheibani came to Parliament. For greater security, he had decided to stay at Parliament for two or three days. The opposition’s plan was to assassinate one of the presidential candidates and thereby postpone the election for fifteen days, as stipulated by the Constitution. The failed assassination attempt against Asgaroladi was apparently part of the same plan.

Mr. Behzad Nabavi and two other members of the leadership of the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization came, and we discussed improving relations between the Islamic Republican Party and their organization and preventing relations between them from deteriorating.

The Presidential Council met in my office after the evening meal, with Ahmad Aqa [Khomeini] and Behzad Nabavi present, and continued until 11 p.m. We discussed the cabinet, relations with the clergy, radio and television, and other matters. I spent the night in my office at Parliament. These days, we have been repeatedly advised to travel less on the streets, and the heavy workload also makes it advisable to save time.