Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – November 12, 1997

We went to Hosseiniyeh Ershad for the closing ceremony of the Basij Qur'an [and Azan] competition and the opening of the Provincial Congress. Before the meeting, Mr. [Mohammed Ali] Mohadi Kermani, [Representative of the Supreme Leader in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps], [Ali] Niazi, [Tehran Military Prosecutor], Mr. Faqihi, [Representative of the Supreme Leader in the Basij Resistance Force] and others expressed concern about the weakening of the leadership position and asked me to enter the field to compensate. In the ceremony, we had the report of Mr. Faqihi and Niazi, and the test of two memorizers of the Qur'an - one a teenager and the other a member of the Sunni army - and the awarding of prizes, and then my speech on the importance of practicing the Qur'an and the importance of the authority of the jurist.

I went to my office. Mr. Ray Shahri came and raised some basic issues: 1- The need to ease the conditions of the [parliamentary elections] candidates in Khobargan in order to warm up the elections; Contrary to the opinion of some who are worried about the presence of opponents of the leadership in Khobargan, they want the conditions to be tough. 2- The problems of establishing the judiciary and the suggestion of a discussion in the Expediency Council, for the judicialization of judgment and the abolition of the current Supreme Courts Law. 3- The many losses of the current dealings with the Tehran Municipality for the system and leadership. 4- Weakening the position of the leadership. He asked me to participate in the opening ceremony of the Hadith College, which was built with my help.

The Board of Trustees of Special Patients Foundation came. Mr. [Ali Akbar] Velayati, Baqir [Ardeshir] Larijani and Fati, [the head of the foundation] gave a work report; Among other things, the speed of kidney transplantation has increased due to the help of my government, in donating one million Tomans to the donor. I also thanked them and gave an interview to strengthen their work.

In the evening, Mr. [Hidayatullah] Aghayi, the deputy minister of the country, came. He expressed concern about the slowing down of the construction process and asked me to encourage the government to continue the construction process. He hopes that the problem of the police force and the Ministry of Interior will be solved. He said that if they condemn the mayor, Mr. [Abdullah] Nouri will react.

[Mr. Seyed Ibrahim Mohajarian Moghadam], Imam Juma, [Syed Masha Allah Shakibi], the representative, [Mr. Farhad Eskandari], the governor and a group of Tabas people came. The people of Tabas brought a petition thanking me for my services, especially for the railway and the tar mine that I promised. In the reports, the stalemate in Iraq continues and recently the presence of dangerous chemical weapons VX and anthrax germs in Iraq has been mentioned and it is not unlikely.