Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani – April 18, 2003

I was at home.  He spent most of his time studying.  I read the US National Strategy for the 21st Century;  It has been prepared ambitiously, domineeringly, and arrogantly.  My interview with Strategy magazine is still being discussed.  The leftists have become inactive, but the messages of thanks and appreciation continue. 
In Iraq's Friday prayers, which were held with the presence of a large number of people, the fierce slogans of anti-Baathists and anti-occupiers and the demand for an Islamic and popular government evoke memories of the protests of the Iranian people at the end of the Taghut era and have worried the Americans.  It is not possible to deal with the people with missiles and bombings, and the strength of America in the war is ineffective in this confrontation. 
The United States has also faced problems on the international stage of the United Nations.  It needs the approval of the [UN] Security Council to take over the affairs of Iraq, and with the positions held by countries such as Russia, France, China, the Secretary General, etc., such permission is unlikely to be issued.  They want to manage the affairs of Iraq with the presence of the United Nations.  In addition, entrusting some of the tenders to certain American companies has worsened the situation.  The protest against the continued presence of the military in Iraq and the violation of human rights and the lack of attention to the needs and problems of the people has become more serious.  The opinion of the cultural advisor [George] Bush is also important in protesting the lack of attention to the important Iraqi museums that have been looted.  The report states that tens of thousands of valuable museum works have been looted.  The foreign ministers of Iraq's neighboring countries also had a meeting today in Riyadh for the future issues of Iraq.
Ayatollah Khamenei has issued two statements about Iraq so far;  In the first, they have asked the Iraqi people not to allow looting and chaos to be an excuse for foreign interference.  In the second, he asked the people of Iran to help the needy Iraqis and the Iranian aid organizations received the aid today during Friday prayers and announced the bank account.
It was announced that Barzan Tikriti, the brother of Saddam [Hussein], was arrested.  The news of his death had already been published.