Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – May 31, 1981

Because I had slept at the Parliament, I took care of some matters before the public session began. We had a public session starting at seven in the morning.

One-twelfth of the budget was under discussion, and it was the government’s turn to defend it. It lasted until one in the afternoon. At noon, Mr. Latif Safari, the representative of Islamabad-e Gharb, came and wanted an authorization that would allow him to intervene in the affairs of the region. To avoid creating problems, I did not give him a general authorization. I gave him an authorization to deal with the war-affected people.

In the afternoon, the representative of the Muslim Brotherhood, Ibrahim Saleh, came with Mr. Ebrahimi from Mr. Montazeri’s office. He proposed secret negotiations with Saudi Arabian figures in order to reach an understanding with them and separate them from Saddam. He said that if the Arab countries became confident in Iran, they would turn away from Saddam and that he could not survive without them, even Jordan. I said that we had no objection to meeting them in Iran. Several leaders of the Iraqi Muslim Kurds also came and complained about the problems created by the Barzanis in the way of their jihad, and about the fact that Iranian government offices did not officially recognize them.

Mr. Nasri and Mr. Alikhani also came and consulted about the elections in Buin Zahra. I attended a meeting of the Central Council of the [Islamic Republic] Party. The discussion was mostly about the judiciary. At night, I attended a joint meeting of Parliament representatives and executive officials who supported the party, and presented an analysis of the Imam’s recent statements concerning strengthening the Parliament and condemning the liberals. The Minister of Commerce explained the bill on the nationalization of foreign trade.

We were guests at Mr. Tavasoli’s home, along with a group of friends from the Imam’s office.