Mr. [Ghorbanali] Dorri [Najafabadi, a member of the Expediency Discernment Council] came to see me. He expressed dissatisfaction with the poor state of the country’s political, economic, and cultural affairs, as well as its overall management.
Mr. [Ghorbanali] Dorri [Najafabadi, a member of the Expediency Discernment Council] came to see me. He expressed dissatisfaction with the poor state of the country’s political, economic, and cultural affairs and its management. He asked me not to remain so passive any longer. He also proposed establishing a branch of the Secretariat of the Assembly of Experts [for Leadership] in Tehran to help the Secretariat overcome its stagnation.
Mr. [Mohammad Bagher] Nobakht, representative of Rasht, came to see me. He expressed views similar to those of Mr. Dorri. He considered my return to Parliament, followed by a return to the executive branch, to be the solution. He also emphasized the need to establish a centrist political party. He spoke at length about the positive statistics and achievements of the Reconstruction programs and regarded their approach as the right path for the country. He is one of the independent representatives.
Dr. [Abdollah] Jasbi, [president of the Islamic Azad University], came to see me. He had brought a document intended to prove that the Ministry of the Interior had provided financial assistance to students opposed to the Islamic Azad University so that they could stir up unrest on campus. He also brought examples of harassment by left-wing newspapers, particularly Neshat. Recently, student groups opposed to the Islamic Azad University had become more active, and Mr. Jasbi’s remarks at the previous Friday Prayer sermon had further inflamed their activities.
In the afternoon, Mr. [Mohsen] Rafiqdoust came to see me. He said that his tenure at the Foundation for the Oppressed and Disabled Veterans had ended and that a successor was to be appointed. He then expressed views similar to those of Messrs. Dorri and Nobakht, strongly insisting that the only solution was for me to become active again. He said that the various right-wing groups had reached this conclusion unanimously at a joint meeting.
Members of the Qom Islamic City Council came and said that the Ministry of the Interior intended to halt the redevelopment plan for the area surrounding the shrine. They asked me to tell Mr. [Seyyed Mohammad] Khatami, [the president], not to raise the issue during his visit to Qom without conducting a comprehensive study. Mr. Khatami had traveled to Qom today, apparently with the aim of reducing the growing criticism from religious scholars and the clergy of the government’s cultural programs.
Haj Agha Mahdi Haeri Tehrani, [the prayer leader of Tehran’s Ark Mosque], and his son, Mohammad Reza, came to see me. He reported on his numerous charitable and public-benefit activities, as well as his substantial financial contributions to the Islamic Azad University. He asked me to reinstate the dismissed director of the university’s South Tehran branch and to appoint him as a member of the university council. He praised my book Crossing the Crisis, my memoirs of 1981, at considerable length.
Among international news, Sonia Gandhi’s return to the leadership of India’s Congress Party is significant. She had resigned following protests over her birth in Italy.
Take less than a minute, register and share your opinion under this post.
Insulting or inciting messages will be deleted.
Sign Up