Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – May 6, 1981

First thing in the morning, Mr. Ali Mar'ashi and his wife came from Rafsanjan to resolve an issue regarding the employment of Ms. Asadi. I spoke with Mr. Bahonar. It was not an important matter; it will be resolved.
Then I went to Parliament, and after reading reports and attending to administrative duties, I participated in the Bylaws Committee meeting. The discussion was regarding the organizing of parliamentary committees.

I sent Messrs. Kiavash and Dr. Velayati to Hotel Qods to inspect and resolve the dispute between Dr. Sheibani and the disabled [veterans] of the Revolution.

In the afternoon, I participated in the Central Council meeting of the Islamic Republican Party. The discussion was about the by-elections. Agreement was reached on several candidates, but it was not finalized. An alliance with other Islamic groups following the Imam's Line was also agreed upon. The issue of the television debate came up, and it was agreed that Mr. Beheshti would participate in the debate on "Freedom, Anarchy, and Coercion"; the concern of some was that bringing representatives of the Tudeh Party and the Feda'iyan Majority onto television alongside Mr. Beheshti would glorify them and build ground for accusations of communist influence, so it was decided that through appropriate statements within the debate itself, this harm would be prevented[1].

The issue of Syria's effort to form a non-Imam's Line Islamic front for Iraq—consisting of individuals like Brigadier General Naqib, Khalesi-Zadeh, and Barzani—was raised, along with the fact that Syria had gained nothing from the front of socialists and nationalists and had turned to this path; now Naqib and others are in Tehran seeking Iran's endorsement. It was decided that we move with caution and not endorse [them], maintaining our reliance on true Muslims and the Da'wa [Party] and Jama'at al-Ulama. The rumor of Saddam's death was brought up, but we had no evidence. Ahmad Aqa Khomeini was supposed to participate in the council meeting; it turned out Mr. Beheshti had not made a firm arrangement with him.

[1] In these television debates, in addition to Ayatollah Beheshti from the Islamic Republican Party, Habibollah Peyman from the Movement of Militant Muslims, Noureddin Kianouri from the Tudeh Party of Iran, Ehsan Tabari from the Tudeh Party of Iran, Farrokh Negahdar from the Organization of Iranian People's Fada'i Guerrillas (Majority), as well as Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi from the instructors of the Qom Seminary and Abdolkarim Soroush from university professors participated.