Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani – April 8, 2003

FarsiNews TV broadcasted news early in the morning that a missile hit the residence of Saddam [Hussein, the President of Iraq] and he and his daughter and son were killed, which is an example of the psychological war that FarsiNews is leading.  BBC and CNN follow it, and two political and military commentators Mr. Zargham and [Hoshang] Hasanyari who work with BBC, act on its margins.

It is claimed that Ali Hassan Majeed, [Iraq's intelligence chief] was killed in Basra.  BBC news reported that last night in the city of Nasiriyah, there was an armed clash between the group of companions of [Ahmed] Chalabi, [Secretary General of the Iraqi National Congress], who went there under the protection of the attackers, with a group of other Iraqis who are said to be Saddam loyalists, this is an important and significant issue. 

Mr. [Mohammed Saeed] Sahaf, [Iraq's Minister of Information] admitted that the attackers entered some parts of Baghdad;  Like Saddam's palace, but on the bridge over the Tigris and al-Rashid barracks, they are under siege and will be destroyed soon.  The attackers claim that the unity of the Iraqi army has been lost and that Saddam has no control over them. 

Dr. [Mehdi] Akbarzadeh, [Advisor to the Minister of Agriculture] came.  He requested that they take action to keep his job in the Ministry of Agriculture.  Mr. [Syed Ebrahim] Raisi, [Head of the General Inspection Organization of the country] came.  He thanked me for my Friday sermons and said that he filled the void of analysis, and also for the decisive actions of the Assembly [Determining Expediency of the Nizam] regarding the budget of the Guardian Council and said that they have a lot of respect for it in the elders' circles.  Regarding dealing with Mr. [Hossein] Mahluji, [former Minister of Mines and Metals] and [Revolution] History Foundation, [Fuel Consumption] Optimization Company and [Engineering and Construction Company] of marine facilities, I gave a reminder.  

Dr. [Abdullah] Jasbi, [President of Islamic Azad University] came.  The issues of Azad University were discussed.  In the evening, Mr. [Abbas Ali] Allahiari, the representative of Kermanshah [and the chairman of the Education and Research Commission of the Parliament] came and asked me to be more present to solve the country's problems in this sensitive situation.

I was the guest of the leader.  He also believes that the Shiraz of the Iraqi army will be disintegrated in the next two or three days, the work of the Iraqi regime will be consolidated, and the main problem for America in the administration of Iraq will begin, and the time has come for the Badr Corps to be ready to operate in vacuum conditions.  It was decided to have a regular meeting with a group of opinionated personalities in their presence to analyze the situation and make a timely decision.  Government bills and controversial issues were discussed. 

In Iraq, attackers attacked the [Palestine] hotel, where foreign journalists were staying, and three of them - including a Spanish, Portuguese and Russian journalist - were killed and many were injured.  They also attacked the office of Al Jazeera TV and killed the journalists.  They say, the occupation of Basra has been completed.  The anti-war demonstrations are still hot, even in Ireland because of the presence of [George] Bush, [President of the United States].
In Afghanistan, clashes with American forces continue in several cities.  In front of the British Embassy [in Tehran], we had several protest demonstrations by students.