Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – November 16, 1997

From the morning call to prayer until ten o'clock, he spent reading reports and watching satellite TV, especially issues related to the Iraq crisis and the Doha [Qatar] economic conference and unprecedented floods in Somalia.

I saw the report of Ayatollah [Hossein Ali] Montazeri's speech on Friday, in which he spoke frankly and harshly against Ayatollah Khamenei and said that he does not have the authority to be an authority, but rather to lead and interfere in executive affairs and the development of expensive organizations and pressure on the opposition. It seems that they have a kind of harmony with the statements of Mr. [Ahmed] Azari [Qomi] and there are those who have brought both of them to the stage.

Engineer [Abulhasan] Kashani came. By presenting his service in the construction of Jiroft and Maron dams, he appealed to the management of Pimab Company to return. Mr. Zanganeh, [former minister of energy], dismissed him. He told the story of an interesting phone call from his father - Ayatollah [Abul Qasim] Kashani - to the Shah. He said, after Tudeh party officers were condemned and two groups of 15 people were executed during the Shah's reign and the execution of the third 15 people was approaching, their families appealed to Mr. Kashani. Even though the Tudeh Party had wronged them a lot and insulted them and even put a turban on a dog's head - as Ayatollah Kashani - and even though the Shah had asked to meet with them many times and they had refused, this time they called the Shah personally to save them and insisted on getting a rank [discount] for them.

Mr. [Mohammed] Mohammadi, the former representative of the dynasty and Delfan, came and asked for the affairs of the mosques. In the afternoon, Mohsen came and said, with Mr. [Abdullah] Nouri, [Minister of the Interior], they have come to the conclusion that he will accept the management of the Tehran Metro Company. He quoted information from them about Ayatollah Montazeri's new action against leadership and expressed his concern. Fati came. He also expressed his concern about the movement that has started against Ayatollah Khamenei and it gives the possibility of sedition and indeed the possibility of sedition goes deep. In the evening, I tied the marriage contract with the daughter of Mashhad Ibrahim and gave a gift.

Mr. [Ali] Khorram, our ambassador came to Geneva and expressed his concern about the internal issues and the weakening of the leadership and the political strife, as well as the external pressure in the future regarding human rights, and he asked me to play a role like in the past and not let the problems increase. Usually, others have the same expectations from me.

I was the guest of the leader. Regarding Ayatollah Montazeri's dangerous move, following the movement of Mr. Azari [Qami], we negotiated and felt it necessary that they should not allow the scope of sedition to expand. At the end of the meeting, Mr. [Qorban Ali] Dori [Najafabadi], Minister of Information and Mr. [Ali Asghar Mir] Hejazi came. Mr. Dori gave a full report and the leadership emphasized that the current should be neutralized. Then we also discussed the election of the Assembly of Experts and the issue of Tehran Municipality. In the reports, the risk of conflict in Iraq has been published.