Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – November 16, 1982

Before the public session, I studied. The budget amendment was on the agenda, and its general principles were approved. During the recess, I said goodbye to the Guardsmen who were going from Parliament to the front and spoke to them.  

At noon, Deputy Minister of Mines Mr. [Hossein] Mahlooji and the head of Mobarakeh Steel came. They objected to his representation of Kashan and wanted Mr. Mahlooji to remain in the ministry. The Friday Prayer Leader of Farsan came and delivered the people's gifts for the front.

Mr. Majid Ansari came and said that the Imam's remarks concerning a delegation sent by the President to the Soviet Union to attend Brezhnev's funeral had been met with objections from some representatives and people. The Imam had said that there was no problem and that he had been consulted before the delegation was sent. In the afternoon, I met with some officials of the in-service training department of the Ministry of Education and spoke to them. The Friday Prayer Leader of Gorgan, Mr. [Seyyed Kazem] Noormofidi, came and spoke about his dispute with Mr. Taheri Gorgani.

Saad Mujbar, the Libyan ambassador, came and spoke of the readiness to deliver the MiG aircraft and of opposition to announcing the [formation of the] Iraqi [Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution] which is scheduled to be made tomorrow by the Islamic fighters in Tehran, and I pointed out some improper matters in Libya.

Mr. Samet, the governor of Tehran, came. He said that the Minister of Interior, Mr. [Ali Akbar] Nateq [Nouri], had dismissed him because he was a Hojjatieh member. At night, we had a meeting at Mr. Khamenei's office. The officials responsible for the Algiers Declaration said that America was inclined to negotiate to resolve the disputes and claims. We said that they should enter negotiations cautiously and report the results at every stage. Then there was a meeting of the heads of the branches, and many important issues, such as resolving the inflation problem, the ports, the war, arrests, and prosecutorial matters, were discussed. Today, reports of new attacks on the fronts were published. At night, it became clear that we too had suffered blows and that there had not been much progress.