Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – May 31, 1997

Mr. [Gholamohsin] Karbaschi, [Mayor of Tehran] came. He complained about the leadership, because of his opposition to [granting] his badge and also for not paying attention to his defense against the criticism of his opponents, including in the issue of municipal cultural centers and [newspaper] Aftabdaghandar and the complaint of [Mr. Abbas Akhundi], Minister of Housing [and Urban Development]. The managers of hydropower projects of the Ministry of Energy came. They reported that the dams and power plants of the Karun, Dez and Karkheh rivers will reach 23,000 megawatts in total.

Those involved in the anniversary of Imam's death came. Mr. [Mohammed Ali] Ansari reported and I also spoke about the importance of Imam's services to Iran and Islam. Mr. [Rasul] Zargar, [Deputy Civil Minister of the Interior and Chief of the Crisis Staff] came. He gave a report on the works and needs of the earthquake reconstruction and the construction works of the municipalities, which have unprecedented credits this year, and the importance of the council elections and the request for the approval of the proposed levies. I did an interview about Khorasan trip and important construction plans.

In the evening, the Expediency Council had a meeting with a resolution and several articles of [internal] regulations. Then, Mr. [Mohammed] Emami Kashani applied for the loans he incurred during the presidential campaigns. Dr. Rouhani, [Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council] came. He expressed his concern about the possible incidents of line differences after the elections and the situation that has arisen in the parliament, with the leadership's recommendation to keep Mr. Natiq [Noori] as the chairman of the parliament. In the reports, the progress of the anti-Taliban forces in Afghanistan is of interest.