Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – November 30, 1994

I spoke on the phone with [Mr. Abul Hassan Moslehi], the son of Ayatollah Araki, in the hospital and offered my condolences. He said that they have arranged to postpone the funeral until tomorrow. I did not agree and consulted with Ayatollah Khamenei over the phone. Like me, they were against delaying the funeral.

I went to the hospital at eight in the morning; It was still quiet. The body was delivered to the hospital morgue. I consoled the children and relatives of the deceased and changed their opinion about the funeral tomorrow. We agreed that today at one o'clock in the afternoon in Tehran and tomorrow in Qom city. I asked about the dead prayer; They said Mr. [Mohammed Taqi] Behjat should study in Qom.

I went to my office and did the work. Dr. Rouhani, [Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council] came. We talked about many issues, including the weaknesses and problems of the Ministry of Information, issues of authority and the way of current propaganda and the incorrectness of negative propaganda, and we talked about Mr. Sistani, the parliamentary elections and the future presidency from the platform of Friday prayers in Tehran.

After noon and evening prayers, I went to the hospital for the funeral. His family gathered around me. They were grateful for my kindness and expressed their happiness that this death did not happen during the trip to England. They were supposed to go to England soon for treatment, and they said that his soul hated foreigners, especially England, and it is surprising why, knowing this, they wanted to go against the doctors' advice.

They opened the coffin for me to see him for the last time. The video was taken from the landscape. It was interesting to me that the bends of the knees and back were straightened; They were bent in their lives. They moved the body and buried it a few steps away. Because of the crowd, I couldn't move on. The guards were also worried. We parted and I went to my office and listened to the funeral on the radio till night. A good crowd had gathered. It took four hours from the [Qalb Shahid Rajaee] hospital to the railway square. Leaders had come on the way to the funeral.

I did not participate in the government meeting. By six o'clock in the afternoon, I did things and came home. Due to the lack of time, for the 1374 budget, I ordered the parliament that the government should hold a meeting; Although it was closed. [Mr. Masoud Soltanifar], the governor of the central province, requested that the central province be closed tomorrow because of the funeral in Qom and because of his being an Arab; I accepted