Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – May 31, 1999

The managers of the Rey Municipality [District 20 of Tehran] came to see me. Mr. [Abdolreza] Ahmadi Khomeini, the mayor of [District 20], gave a report and said that assistance from the central municipality had declined over the past two years, and that many projects, including the Healthy City programs, had effectively come to a standstill. They also lacked the funds needed to compensate landowners as part of plans to redevelop the former tanneries and brick kilns. They asked me to visit the projects.

Mr. Movahedi, commander of the Sepah Protection Unit, came to see me. He has been removed from his command post. He is dissatisfied with the leadership of the Revolutionary Guards and would like to work at the Expediency Discernment Council.

In the afternoon, Mr. [Gholamreza] Ansari, our ambassador to the United Kingdom, came to see me. He expressed satisfaction with the improvement in relations. He discussed some of the successes of Britain’s Labour government, noting that it had moderated the party’s socialist ideas. He suggested that we resolve the dispute over the Chieftain tank case, which is currently before the courts, through a settlement, and help remove obstacles to strengthening bilateral relations. He also asked the Expediency Discernment Council to expand the powers of the free trade zones to attract foreign investment and investment from Iranians living abroad.

Today, the media are giving considerable attention to the pressure being exerted by the Press Court on newspaper executives, and the court is facing severe criticism. The government has allocated funds to post bail for newspaper executives who receive lengthy prison sentences.