Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – March 18, 1992

I reached my office at half past seven in the morning. It is raining on the way. I worked until nine in the morning. They came from the radio and the New Year message was recorded.

Mr. Mohammad Ali Ansari, [the head of the office for editing and publishing Imam Khomeini's works] came and asked for help to complete the Imam's shrine. He said that the budget is not enough. He asked for help to solve the problem of differences between clergy and clerics. He was also upset that his brother Majid [Ansari] was accused of being against the government by his rival in Zarand.

I said that I was against the separation of the clerical assembly from the beginning, and at the same time I said that the clerics should have accepted the split and now something should be done to unite them, but it is unlikely that we will succeed before the elections. But he insisted on a kind of agreement, to give a list with several people from each side. I said I will follow up. The clerical assembly thinks that such a thing is in their interest, and the clerical community believes otherwise.

The Supreme Administrative Council had a meeting. The establishment of office complexes in big cities where clients can do their work in one place was in order. It seems that there is an example of such centers in developed countries called "City Hall". Its general aspects were approved and the discussion about the details was postponed to the next meeting.

In the evening, the government board had a meeting. We gave a holiday to the ministers and decided on the issuance of the orders of the employees based on the law of the coordinated payment system. Ministers, deputies, advisers and their family members were my guests. I gave a feast to the male children and chastity to the females. After dinner, I gave a short speech to their family members.

After the ceremony, Mr. [Abdullah] Nouri, the Minister of the Interior, came and expressed his concern about the severity of the differences between the two religious factions and asked me to help bring them closer together. The words were similar to Mr. Ansari's words and my answer was similar to that answer.

Dr. [Hasan] Rohani reported the statements of Mr. [Jalal] Talabani, [leader of the Patriotic Party of Iraqi Kurdistan] and Mr. [Aziz] Jafari [commander of the IRGC's Western Headquarters]. He asked for help and announced his readiness to prevent our anti-revolutionary movements in Iraq and said that the Americans' opinion is to remove Saddam and keep Baath in Iraq. Regarding the time of action, there is a difference between England and America; England is in a hurry because of its own elections.