Akbar Hashemi's Memoirs - November 26, 2002

Mohamed ElBaradei has said that after completing the disarmament of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, the case of Israel’s weapons of mass destruction will immediately be put on the agenda.  

Four members of the Unity Consolidation who were arrested yesterday have been released on bail to appear in court.  

Full diary text:  

I was at home. I read reports about Israel's nuclear weapons and Iraq's preparations to acquire this technology. The work on revising the indexes of Volume 14 of the Guide Interpretation has been completed.

Mr. Mohamed ElBaradei, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has stated that after Iraq's weapons of mass destruction are dealt with, the issue of Israel's weapons of mass destruction will immediately be addressed. The inspection of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction began today.

In Afghanistan, a missile landed on the roof of a building near the presidential palace and exploded. The United States has warned Pakistan that if reports proving Pakistan's assistance to North Korea in producing nuclear bombs are confirmed, it will face U.S. retaliation. American media have expanded their coverage regarding financial assistance from the people of Saudi Arabia to Al-Qaeda. Representatives and senators have called for follow-up on the matter.

[Mr. Saeed Razavi Faqih, Abdullah Momeni, Akbar Atari, and Mehdi Aminzadeh], four members of the [Office of] Tahkim-e Vahdat who were arrested yesterday, have been released on bail with the requirement to appear in court.  

Recep [Tayyip] Erdoğan, leader of Turkey's Justice and Development Party, stated in an interview in France that his party does not have an Islamic title and is loyal to the secular system. Essentially, this party has had a more liberal aspect from its inception compared to Necmettin Erbakan's [Welfare] Party, similar to the Freedom Movement in Iran, but they are Muslim, and these statements are meant to reassure Westerners who are concerned about Muslims winning in Turkey.

In Nigeria, the death toll from the recent uprising has risen to around 200, and Muslims are calling for the execution of a journalist who insulted Nigeria over the issue of the selection of the beauty queen.

On the occasion of World AIDS Day, it was announced that there are tens of thousands of AIDS patients in the world, most of them in Africa. In Iran, about 4,000 infected people have been identified, and there is a possibility that they will be infected several times.