Akbar Hashemi's Memoirs - December 7, 2002

CEO of Telecommunications Company: Due to exercising influence in the Judiciary, the execution of the tender for 1.2 million mobile SIM cards (prepaid) has been delayed for seven months; because of the import of Alcatel [telecommunication equipment], the representation of which in Iran is held by an individual.

Students held limited demonstrations on Student Day and chanted sharp slogans, clashed with the police, and a number of them were arrested.

Full text of the daily note:

In the session of the Expediency Discernment Council [Majma'a Tashkhis-e Maslahat-e Nezām], the discussion on administrative policies continued and was returned to the commission for completion. The discussion on exempting government organizations from paying court costs was also sent to the judicial commission for review.

In the afternoon, Dr. [Alireza] Bahrampour, [CEO of Telecommunications Company], and Hamed Marashi came. They reported on the completion of the Shanghai-Frankfurt fiber optic network that passes through Iran. They said that, due to exercising influence in the Judiciary, the execution of the tender for 1.2 million mobile SIM cards (prepaid) has been delayed for seven months; because of the import of Alcatel [telecommunication equipment], the representation of which in Iran is held by an individual.

In Tehran and several other cities, students held limited gatherings and demonstrations on the occasion of Student Day, chanted sharp slogans, clashed with the police, and a number of them were arrested.

Iraq announced that it would give the complete 24,000-page report on its weapons to the [UN weapons] inspectors tomorrow, and the chief inspector rejected the US request to encourage scientists related to weapons of mass destruction in Iraq to leave Iraq, stating, "We did not come to Iraq for kidnapping."

In the US, following the announcement of a rise in the unemployment rate to six percent, [Paul O'Neill], the Secretary of the Treasury, and [Lawrence Lindsey], the Special Economic Advisor to the White House, resigned, and stock market values dropped. In Bangladesh, several bombs exploded in exhibition halls, killing and injuring a number of people.

Israel accused Palestinian mujahidin from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad [Organization] of collaborating with Al-Qaeda, while Palestinians reciprocated by saying that Israel is carrying out a plot in this regard, citing a number of Palestinian prisoners recently released who claimed they were pressured in prison to confess to cooperating with Al-Qaeda.

A US warship collided with a civilian ship in the Persian Gulf and sustained damage. It was said to be an Iranian oil tanker, which Iran denied.