Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – September 10, 1990

I worked until half past eight. Meetings started at nine o'clock in the morning as usual. The Council of National Documents came. They asked for more credit and facilities to organize the past documents in the stagnant archives of the country, which have not been organized for decades; I agreed.

Mr. [Mohammed] Moezzi, the representative of Isfahan, came. He praised the political and economic successes of the government. He made suggestions for administrative reforms and requested for the preservation of Isfahan's cultural heritage. Mr. [Ali Mohammad] Basharti, [Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs] said on the phone, the Iraqis have been informed by the Red Cross that Mr. [Mohammed Javad] Tandgovian died in 1968.

Mr. [Ali Mohammad] Babakhas, the representative of Paveh, came. He spoke about the problems of the Kurdistan region and praised the policies of the government, criticized the local officials for discriminating against Kurds and Sunnis, and while thanking them for the permission to establish a religious university for Sunnis, he asked for permission to build a Sunni mosque in Tehran.

Mr. [Rasul] Muntjab Niya, [the representative of Shiraz] came. He criticized the Governor of Fars and the Minister of Education and appealed to the Islamic Association of Teachers. He said that he and his friends were with the government and denied the reports of their opposition to the government. I said we will talk another time.

We had a meeting with the Iraqi delegation, consisting of Oil Minister Tariq Aziz and Saddam's brother Barzan Tikriti; They negotiated from a position of weakness and tried to justify their actions in invading Kuwait. I did not accept and emphasized that the prisoners should be released soon and the nationals of the two countries should be able to travel for pilgrimage and we agreed to establish official relations and open embassies. I explained to them the dangerous situation they have in front of America, the West and their Arab rivals. They claimed that if Iraq had not started, they would have overthrown the Iraqi government with a specific plan.

My tooth hurt in the afternoon. In the evening, I visited the Majlis dentist. Messrs. [Syros] Nasseri and [Syed Hossein] Mousavi came; They said that Barzan Tikriti criticized Tariq Aziz's weakness in negotiations and his lack of logical answers. It was discussed about the answer to the message of the Americans that was given yesterday by the Swiss ambassador regarding the issues of the Persian Gulf and the issues of Iran, America and the West; They were supposed to answer firmly.

The Economic Council had a meeting. A decision was made about the telephone rate and the purchase of medical equipment. I came home at night; The children were gathered.