Akbar Hashemi’s Memoirs – February 17, 2003

The representative of Tafarsh, along with two German industrialists, propose to cooperate with Iran and use their catalysts to reduce [air] pollution and fuel consumption of cars.

Full text of the newspaper:

At eight in the morning, on the way to my office, we entered Shahid Bahoner Street.  It was snowing heavily and the cars had no power to move along the entire street - from Niavaran [street] to Jjerish [square].  We remained motionless for a while and had to return home.  We waited for two hours until the road was opened.  I reached my office at half past eleven.  A large number of members and officials of the expert assembly who came for the meeting were waiting;  The meeting time was eleven o'clock. 
Dr. [Karim] Zare, [Chairman of the Assembly of Specialists and Elites of Iran] and [Khosro] Naseerizadeh, [Secretary General of the Assembly] and two representatives of the Assembly - Mr. [Ali Akbar] Aghaei and [Mohammed Baqir] Bagherinejadian - spoke briefly and they all said that the Assembly now has four thousand members, its members are increasing rapidly and it has offices in 28 provinces.  They consider their mission to follow the policies of building the country.  They gave a plaque of appreciation as the founder of development and construction.  They requested me to take over their great leadership.  
In the evening Mr. [Bahman] Akhwan, the representative of Tafarsh, came with two German industrialists.  They suggest to cooperate with Iran and to reduce the [air] pollution and the fuel consumption of cars to use the catalyst of their production.  They claim that if it is mass produced in Iran, it will cost 60 thousand tomans and it will reduce fuel consumption by 25% and pollution by 70%.  I said, give a written proposal with explanations. 
Mr. Dr. [Mohammedreza] Zafarqandi, the head of the medical system organization, came.  He complained to the Islamic Azad University that he complained to the court because of his statements and asked me to solve the problem.  He told about his revolutionary background and presence in the front and his chemical injury.  I told Dr. [Abdullah] Jasbi, [President of Islamic Azad University] not to pursue the complaint. 
It was announced that Iraq had canceled the entry permit for Iranian pilgrims [Etbat al-Aliat] due to security reasons, and several caravans returned from the west.  120 representatives [of the 6th Parliament] have submitted a request for the impeachment of [Mr. Kamal Kharazi], the Minister of Foreign Affairs, due to the weak performance in relation to Iraq and the invitation of [Naji Sabri], the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iraq.  
NATO members finally agreed to America's insistence to help Turkey in its military defense in the event of a war and possible danger from Iraq.  The European Union held a meeting to resolve their differences regarding the possible war in Iraq. 
The Arab foreign ministers also held a meeting in Cairo to discuss the US invasion of Iraq, and at the end they announced that a military attack on any Arab country is an attack on all Arab countries, and Arab countries should not help the aggressor, and they were able to reach a conclusion in time for the Arab Summit. 
In Palestine, after the explosion of their tank, Israel has increased their brutality and killed 11 martyrs today, and the Palestinian people turned the funeral of the martyrs into a huge demonstration. 
After examining the reports of the Mars probe, scientists announced that the mountains of the Martian ice globe are so large that if they melt, the entire surface of Mars will be covered with water for hours.