Concern of the members of the Expediency Discernment Council and the Presiding Board of the Assembly of Experts about Iran's nuclear decisions and the possibility of referring the case to the Security Council / The explanatory report of Khatami and Rouhani's effort to persuade public opinion; from the majority of the Council members not being convinced to the protest of the students of Shahroud University / The Madrid conference and the reconstruction aid for Iraq; Iran's 300-million-dollar pledge and observers' criticism of the conference's ineffectiveness / Developments in Iraq, the expulsion of George Galloway from the British Labour Party, and the continuation of clashes in Palestine.
The Expediency Discernment Council held a session. Members expressed concern about the manner of Iran's submission to Western pressure on the nuclear technology issue. Mr. Seyyed Mohammad Khatami, the President, gave an explanatory report, but the majority were not convinced. They expressed satisfaction with my silence on this matter at last Friday's prayers. We approved 11 more clauses of the Fourth Plan policies.
At noon, the Presiding Board of the Assembly of Experts held a meeting in my office. We decided to take action for the construction of the Assembly of Experts Center in Qom, on the 10,000-square-meter land that we took from the late Abolfazl Tavallai for the Assembly of Experts at the beginning of the revolution. They too were upset about the manner of decision-making regarding the Additional Protocol and the suspension of enrichment. They believe the system's prestige has been broken, especially since it contradicts the Leader's statements in recent months. They were surprised at how the Leader has gone back on his words. I said pressure is being applied to him from all sides. They were saying that they will certainly take it to the UN Security Council and pass sanctions against Iran.
It was said that part of society is satisfied and part is dissatisfied. There is also much criticism of Dr. Hassan Rouhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. They also criticized his smiling face among the Western foreign ministers.
Dr. Rouhani today at Shahroud University was trying to persuade the students, but a group protested and made the session tense. Messrs. Mahmoud Vaezi and Mohammad Reza Nouri Shahroudi said the day before yesterday that society is happy and satisfied with this action.
America and Britain express satisfaction with the result of the Madrid conference, but observers believe it is political maneuvering and the conference has yielded no result—it is like a mirage. The bulk of the pledge has been made by America itself, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and Japan. All the Europeans [pledged] only 700 million dollars. Iran too 300 million dollars, mainly in the form of loans rather than aid, conditional on buying or purchasing goods from Iran.
In Britain, George Galloway, a critic of Tony Blair, has been expelled from the Labour Party. In Iraq, an American helicopter has been downed by an RPG, wounding five. American officials say that American soldiers sometimes deliberately injure themselves to be sent to America.
In Palestine, the clashes continue. The Kuwaiti parliament has also objected to the government regarding its commitment to aid Iraq.
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