Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – June 15, 1981

I arrived at the Parliament four minutes late. It was the first time I had been late. Before the agenda, Mr. [Mohammad Ali] Heydari Nahavandi briefly responded to Bani-Sadr’s statement, and one of the representatives spoke in opposition. Mr. [Ali Akbar] Moinfar then read a letter from Engineer [Mehdi] Bazargan, Dr. [Yadollah] Sahabi, and Dr. [Kazem] Sami, stating that, in protest, they would not come to the Parliament. I responded to them well; had I not responded, the Parliament would have become tense.

The bill to incorporate the Revolutionary Courts into the Judiciary is under consideration, along with authorization to act on the Imam’s religious rulings concerning the punishment of offenders and qisas, laying the groundwork for the implementation of Islamic qisas.

News came that, during his meeting with the scholars of Mazandaran, the Imam had made important remarks against the nationalists and Bani-Sadr. The National Front and the armed opposition groups had announced a demonstration against the government, but the Imam’s remarks caused them to lose the courage to come out into the streets. Instead, the Hezbollahis poured into the streets and chanted strong slogans calling for Bani-Sadr and the nationalists to be dismissed, tried, and executed. More than 500,000 people gathered in the streets without any prior arrangements and continued demonstrating until evening.

Late in the day, a huge crowd came in front of the Parliament and asked to meet with me. I went to meet them. They were very enthusiastic and had some interesting slogans, and they demanded that Bani-Sadr’s political competence be withdrawn by the Parliament. I told them: “The signatures of 107 representatives assure you that the Parliament’s views are in agreement with yours.” After thanking them, I asked them to disperse. They dispersed in an orderly manner, chanting slogans.

Near sunset, there was a tremendous explosion. It was later discovered that an explosion had occurred in the courtyard of Bani-Sadr’s residential palace. It may have been carried out by his own people, or it may have been the work of his opponents. This will become clear later.

In the afternoon, I gave an interview to Payam-e Enqelab magazine. A group of military personnel came and made proposals aimed at ensuring that the ideological line was maintained in the Army.

We had a meeting of the Presiding Board, concerning the procedure for the motion to withdraw Bani-Sadr’s political competence. At night, at the Judiciary, there was a consultative meeting of the three branches of government with the Revolutionary Guards and others, where decisions were made regarding political activities, propaganda, the arrest of the leaders of the armed opposition, and current issues.

Ahmad Agha called and said: The Imam says that the Parliament should make a decision regarding Mr. Bani-Sadr as soon as possible. Today, Bani-Sadr gave an arrogant response to the Imam’s remarks. It is clear that he does not intend to comply.

Engineer Bazargan has saved himself with a statement. The Imam’s wife, daughters, and daughter-in-law were guests of Effat.