Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – October 22, 1985

I managed a bit of the meeting and handed it over to Mr. [Mehdi] Karroubi, the second vice president. I came to my office to follow up on the issue of the new cabinet. Mr. President, along with a letter, on the order of the Imam, asked the appointed delegation of the Imam for arbitration. At noon in my office, we discussed with Ahmad Agha, Ayatollah [Mousavi] Ardabili and the Prime Minister. We did not make much progress.

In the evening, Mr. [Mohammed] Ghori came and insisted that he stay in the [Ministry of] Oil. A group of representatives came who mostly relied on moderate candidates. A group of extremists also came to remove the moderates. Mr. Ahmad stayed in my office until the evening and after the prayer we went to Mr. [Ayatollah] Khamenei's office to negotiate with him. Mr. [Mousavi] Ardabili also came. We negotiated for two or three hours and agreed on two or three items.

After dinner, Mr. [Ayatollah] Khamenei left and we held a meeting of the jury. Out of the fourteen cases of disagreement [the president and the prime minister about the proposed cabinet ministers], we decided on ten cases and four cases were postponed. I went to my office late and slept.

These days I am having a hard time regarding the cabinet issue. On the one hand, I consider securing the opinion of the Imam, and on the other hand, I consider the approval of the cabinet to be the president's right. Before being nominated, he had clearly said that he would not compromise on the cabinet, and reports from the front that many fighters have become sensitive about this. In the parliament, both factions have expectations from me, which are difficult to reconcile.