Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – May 6, 1997

At seven in the morning we flew from [Mehrabad] Airport toward Isfahan. Mohsen and [Messrs. Mohammad-Reza Nematzadeh, Mohammad Forouzandeh, Hossein Mahlouji, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh]—the Ministers of Industries, Defense, Mines, and Energy—and Messrs. [Hamid] Mirzadeh, [Head of the Plan and Budget Organization], and [Reza] Amrollahi, [Head of the Atomic Energy Organization], were with me. At Isfahan Airport, after the official welcome, we flew toward the Qatran refinery, beside the steel mill; it is a large unit, for refining 100 thousand tons of tar a year.

We heard the explanations of its manager, Mr. [Hossein] Adib. It was built with 39 million dollars and four billion tomans and has 18 expensive products. For twenty-some years, the tar product of the steel mill's coking has been accumulated unused in earthen ponds, and only a few shipments have been exported by the Tehran Metro Company at 20 dollars per ton. Today the value of its one year's products is 25 million dollars, and for this year the refinery's consumption has been stored.

We visited the various sections. Among the staff, after hearing the report of Mr. [Mohammad-Reza] Nematzadeh, [Minister of Industries], and Mr. [Mohsen] Rafiq-Doust, [Head of the Foundation of the Disabled and War-Disabled], I spoke and explained the importance of acquiring this technology, which can obtain about three thousand downstream products from tar. The staff, with great enthusiasm, were constantly chanting the slogan "Hashemi the champion, welcome to Qatran."

We went to Zarrin Shahr, the center of the military industries. We visited the factory producing four types of vehicles—bus, minibus, jeep, and light truck—and heard the explanations of Engineer [Gholam-Ali] Kiani and Engineer Taheri. Then, among the enthusiastic staff there, after hearing the report of Mr. [Mohammad] Forouzandeh, [Minister of Defense], in a short speech, while explaining the importance of the defense industries, I encouraged them.

We flew to Mobarakeh Steel. After lunch, prayers, and a rest, we visited the Mobarakeh expansion project. With changes in the melting ladles, 600 thousand tons of steel will be added to the product, which is very interesting. We visited the hot and cold rolling production line and unveiled the plaque for expansion to the level of six million tons of sheet. There was a flower-scattering in an interesting manner. Among the staff, after hearing the report of Messrs. [Hossein] Mahlouji, [Minister of Mines and Metals], and Engineer

[Ahmad-Ali] Harati, [Managing Director of Mobarakeh Steel], and the deputies, and Messrs. [Mohammad-Hassan] Erfanian, [executor of the Mobarakeh Steel project], I gave certificates of appreciation to the managers. Then I gave a speech and expressed appreciation for the adoption of the newest technology for the improvement of the furnace and the ladles and the rolling line; truly Mobarakeh Steel has become a source of pride for the country's industry and production.

We went to the site of the "Nirou-Kalar" factory [affiliated with the Ministry of Energy] in the industrial town. We heard explanations. They make coolers and other products from salt, gas, and powder, and it is very important for the country's health. I visited the factory. It was built with a foreign-currency cost of 20 million dollars and a rial cost of seven billion tomans. For the inauguration of 20 diverse industrial projects, we went to another factory. I visited the booths and, after hearing the speeches of the Ministers of Industries and Energy, I gave a short speech.

We flew to the Isfahan Nuclear Center. After hearing the explanations of Messrs. Rasouli and Amrollahi, [Head of the Atomic Energy Organization], we visited the small heavy-water reactor that the Chinese have built.

After sunset we reached Isfahan Airport. After the prayer, we visited several urban development projects and the construction of a hotel and a cement factory, and I gave the order to start work. At the ceremony, we heard the report of [Mr. Eshaq Jahangiri], the Governor-General. A poet recited an eloquent poem describing me, which Master [Habibollah] Fazaeli, [the famous calligrapher], had written in beautiful calligraphy on a plaque, and the representatives of Isfahan's artists presented it to me. I too gave an encouraging speech.

We flew toward Tehran. We had dinner on the way. [Messrs. Majid Hedayat-Zadeh and Hamid-Reza Assefi], our ambassadors in Italy and France, were with us. They said Italy's proposal is that we announce that the German ambassador, in the third group of European ambassadors, can return to Iran in a friendly manner.