Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi - March 15, 2003

Traveling to Qazvin and visiting this province for half a day

Seyyed Hossein Marashi and Ali Hashemi report on the reaction of the parliament to the approval of the budget in this way in the Discernment Assembly

Full text of the diary:

At 8:00 a.m., we flew to Qazvin by helicopter. At Qazvin airport, the managers of the province were welcomed. I had a short interview with IRIB.

We went to Alborz Industrial City to inaugurate the development of the Alborz Ceramic Tile Factory. Engineer Ameri [CEO of Alborz Tile Company] explained and we visited the production lines, the production line is modern, and they said that there are only two examples of it in the world, one from Italy and the other from Iran, whose manufacturer also buys a part of Iran's products. At the meeting of the directors, Mr. [Mohammad Hossein] Sharifzadegan, the managing director of the Social Security Organization, reported on the investment and industries of the organization and the shares of their stock exchange. I also spoke briefly.

We went to the Islamic Propaganda Center. In the gathering of the clergy and administrators of the province, Mr. Masoud Emami, the governor, [Mr. Hadi Barikbin] the Friday Imam, and Mr. [Seyyed Mohammad Hassan] Aboutorabi Fard, [representative of Qazvin] welcomed and reported. I also gave a speech. After prayers, lunch, and rest, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards and the head of the Islamic Propaganda Organization of the province came and reported and raised their needs.

We moved to the Buin Zahra area. At 4:00 p.m., we reached the village of Khayaraj. For the anniversary of the martyrs of the region, a large crowd came from all over the city. The square and the street next to the Hosseinieh and inside the Hosseinieh were full of people and they were expressing their emotions with enthusiasm that it was not possible to speak regularly. I talked to people for a while and stood on the roof of the car for a while to see the people.

We flew to Tehran by helicopter. We were home at 6:00 p.m. Mr. Hossein Marashi [representative of Kerman] and Mr. Ali Akhavizadeh [representative of Rafsanjan] came from the parliament. Several MPs and Mr. Karroubi have criticized the Expediency Council's decision on the Guardian Council's budget and have issued a 150-signature statement. They have decided not to enter the order tomorrow in the parliament in protest against the resolution.

It seems that the danger of war is approaching. France has said the countdown to the war has begun. Saddam [Iraqi President Hussein] has ordered a war and said that if [U.S. President] Bush resigns, he will do the same.