Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – May 22, 1999

I went to my office. The Infrastructure Commission [of the Expediency Discernment Council] held a meeting. We finalized the general policies for the water sector.

In the afternoon, Mr. [Reza] Amrollahi, [president of Khajeh Nasir al-Din Tusi University of Technology], came to see me. He expressed concern about the situation at universities and said that the majority were either indifferent or opposed to the Revolution. Dissatisfaction was growing because the government was not paying attention to universities’ needs. He was highly critical of the country’s overall management. He complained that two malicious cases had been fabricated against him to take revenge on the [Executives of Construction] Party. Although he had been acquitted in both cases, he believed their origins lay in the Office of the Supreme Leader.

Mr. [Lotfali] Ivazi, [secretary of the Union of Islamic Student Associations], came on behalf of the student union. He offered a relatively sound analysis of the country’s situation and the state of the Revolution, and expressed regret that I no longer played the same role as before in running the country and managing the affairs of the Revolution. He believed the solution was for me to intervene by establishing a strong political party composed of moderate and independent forces. He invited me to attend their seminar, but I declined.

Mr. [Abolfazl] Tavakoli-Bina came to see me. He spoke about the state of the Islamic Coalition Association [Motalefeh] and, while complaining about the way the country was being run, asked me to play a greater role in supporting the Supreme Leader. He also expressed concern over what he saw as the weakening of the principle of Velayat-e Faqih (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist) over the past two years.

In the evening, at the Supreme Leader’s invitation, the heads of the three branches of government and I were his guests. Ayatollah Khamenei spoke frankly and strongly criticized the country’s cultural situation and the attacks taking place in university circles against Velayat-e Faqih, against him personally, and against the Revolution’s past. He was particularly critical of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and the state of the press. He also explained his remarks made during a meeting with publishers and expressed his dissatisfaction with the heads of the three branches of government. He said that in such matters, senior officials needed to publicly announce common positions, and so on.

Most of his remarks were directed at Mr. [Seyyed Mohammad] Khatami, [the president]. Each of us offered explanations, and Mr. Khatami spoke at length. He said that policies and positions on contentious issues, particularly freedom and religion, needed to be clarified first.

I said that if there were a clear program, I could play a more active role, but I did not consider it appropriate to participate without a defined program and merely follow others. Mr. [Ali Akbar] Nategh [Nouri, speaker of parliament] expressed a view similar to mine. The discussion remained inconclusive, and it was agreed that we would pursue the matter at a meeting of the heads of the three branches of government. Today’s media carried extensive reports about certain institutions expressing support for the Supreme Leader’s remarks.