Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – September 14, 2002

Maqsoudi, the head of the Tehran Friday Prayer Headquarters, spoke about the ineffectiveness of most members of the headquarters’ council and requested permission to replace them. Most of them are Tehran’s bazaar merchants.

Dr. Rouhani, [Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council] said that if America goes to war with Iraq, after victory, it will be Iran’s turn, as they are counting on Iran’s internal divisions. He outlined a framework.

Full diary text:

General [Habib] Beqayi, former [Air Force] commander and current deputy of Amir [Mohammad] Salimi, commander of the Army, came. He expressed regret about the slowdown of reconstruction and suggested that it would be good to divert water from the Gotvand Dam lake through a tunnel to the hills in the northeast of Khuzestan. He appreciated my trip to the area between Shahr-e Kord and Masjed Soleiman and the road construction to pull the region out of isolation, and he gave a report on the state of the army, especially the Air Force.

Mr. [Javad] Maqsoudi, head of the [Friday Prayer] Headquarters in Tehran, came. He spoke about the ineffectiveness of most members of the headquarters’ council and asked permission to replace them. Most are Tehran bazaaris. Mr. Masih Mohajeri, [managing director of the Jomhouri Eslami newspaper], and his student son Hossein came. They expressed concern about the plans of radical Second of Khordad figures aiming to weaken the system’s core and coordinate with Westerners—especially after Mr. [Mohammad] Khatami’s interview, the bills on presidential powers and elections, and the insolent letter of the Office for Strengthening Unity to the Assembly of Experts against the leadership.

In the afternoon, Mr. [Amir] Tehrani from the Ministry of Intelligence came. He said he had rejected offers to serve as parliamentary and economic deputy of the ministry, and expressed concern about the ministry’s inaction against counterrevolutionary plots. He also explained the reformists’ plan for confrontation, followed by a referendum, and then withdrawing from the system, hoping for domestic unrest and foreign support. I told him that withdrawal from the system is up to them, but rebellion and practical foreign backing is unlikely.

Dr. [Hassan] Rouhani, [Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council], came and said that if America goes to war with Iraq—and it will—after victory over Iraq, Iran will be next, as they are watching Iran’s internal divisions. He laid out a framework and suggested that the Leader should take the initiative in holding sessions to increase public satisfaction. He also said that [Abolghasem Delfi], our ambassador in Belgium, told him that when he protested the EU’s conditioning of trade relations on political and cultural issues, they replied that it was requested by officials of your own government. If true, this is treason. We had interesting talks about current issues and future negotiations. He said in his speech to the ambassadors, it became clear that many of them hold reformist (Second of Khordad) views.