Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – May 26, 2003

Mr. [Khalil] Aghaei, the representative of Meshkin Shahremad and while explaining his work history in the construction government in Jihad, requested that I step into the field to resolve conflicting issues and create consensus. Mr. Ahmad Jalali - who is currently Iran's ambassador to UNESCO and the elected president of the UNESCO General Assembly - came and discussed whether to stay or return to Iran after completing his presidency next October.  He criticized the weakness of the diplomacy of the government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and said, in political circles, your talks with [Mohammed] ElBaradei, [the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency] are interpreted as important and influential.
Mr. Masih Mohajeri, [president's social advisor and managing director of Jumohri-e-Islami newspaper] came.  He had questions about Mr. [Syed Mohammad] Khatami's statement for June 2 and the parliament's reactions to the deadlock of bills and letters of 127 representatives to the leadership and American issues, etc., and requested an interview.  With a group of his friends, they negotiated with Qom authorities to make a statement against the continued occupation of Iraq by the invaders, but they did not take action and also met with the leadership, and the leadership did not agree to the establishment of Jundullah Party.
In the afternoon Mr. [Kamal] Kharazi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, came. He said that the world has practically become polarized and America does not pay attention to Russia and China, and it has become arrogant and dangerous, and especially the issues of Iraq, Al-Qaeda and weapons of mass destruction are important to it, and action should be taken to eliminate the evil of America and allow diplomatic maneuvers.
I said, now the leadership has allowed movement and dialogue on three issues: Al-Qaeda, Iraq and nuclear issues.  Why have they not taken action in these three weeks?  A wise group was supposed to form a headquarters to guide these issues, but Mr. Khatami, [President] and you and Dr. [Hasan] Rouhani, [Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council] have not yet acted.
Mr. [Tahmaseb] Mazaheri and [Ebrahim] Shibani, the Minister of [Economic Affairs and] Finance and the head of the Central Bank came.  They gave reports and consulted on many issues of liquidity and price of currency and national currency, foreign obligations and foreign exchange reserves, and requested to use the position of the [expediency of the system] assembly.  Regarding Krupp's shares, they said that they sold half of Iran's shares due to American pressure and Germany's request.  Although in the government, we had strengthened the creation of stocks to participate in the board of directors, with this action, that privilege was lost. They said, they have kept 40% of foreign exchange reserves in dollars, which we will lose with the gradual decline in the price of the dollar against the euro.
A plane carrying 74 Spanish people, 64 of whom were soldiers, crashed in Turkey on the way back from Afghanistan to Spain, and all the passengers were killed.  It is problematic for the Spanish government.  In Iraq, several Americans and Iraqis were killed and injured in several explosions, and a group of Iraqi officers demonstrated in Baghdad against the dissolution of the army.