Akbar Hashemi's Memoirs - December 8, 2002

Mr. Mohammad Javad Fazel Lankarani, accompanied by Mr. Maleki, explained about their negotiations with Mr. Khatami concerning the bills, and asked me to ensure that the current worrying situation is rectified.

The heads of the branches of government negotiated regarding the case of the [Ayandeh] Polling Institute. They were critical of the Judiciary's manner of operation. They agreed that the publication of the polling results was contrary to the national interest.

Full text of the daily note:

[Mr. Mohammad Javad], the son of Ayatollah [Mohammad] Fazel Lankarani, came accompanied by Mr. [Abbas] Maleki. He explained about his negotiations with Mr. [Seyyed Mohammad] Khatami [the President] concerning the bills, and asked me to ensure that the current worrying situation is rectified. He brought his father's message. Mr. [Ezatollah] Akbari, the former representative of Ghaemshahr, came. While criticizing the situation and the government's management, he requested a scholarship for a PhD at the Islamic Azad University.

Mr. [Mohammad Ali] Mohammadi, the owner of the Faryab factory and mine, which he recently purchased, came accompanied by Mr. [Hassan] Allahverdi[nejad, Secretary-General of the Iran Welfare Party], and explained about the method of purchasing it, making it profitable, optimizing the furnace and mine, and marketing for the export of ferrochrome.

In the afternoon, representatives of West Azarbaijan came. They all spoke about the shortcomings and problems in their constituencies, including Sunni and Shia and Kurd and Turk disputes, unremoved mines, stagnation of development projects, and the problems of the Assyrians. The son of Ayatollah [Seyyed Mohammad Mousavi] Bojnourdi came and gave explanations about the [Ayandeh] Polling Institute whose case is in court.

In the evening, the heads of the branches of government were my guests. [Messrs. Ali Younesi, Mostafa Moein, Kamal Kharazi], the Ministers of Intelligence, Science [and Foreign Affairs], and Dr. [Mohsen] Nourbakhsh [Governor of the Central Bank] also came. Negotiations took place regarding the case of the [Ayandeh] Polling Institute. They were critical of the Judiciary's manner of operation. They agreed that the publication of the polling results was contrary to the national interest. Mr. Nourbakhsh also explained about the sale of foreign currency by the Revolutionary Guard Corps (Sepah) and said that the single-rate policy requires that foreign currency be supplied in quantities equal to all needs.

Mr. [Abbas Vaez] Tabasi [Custodian of Astan Quds Razavi] called and said that it had been agreed to appoint an arbitrator regarding the case of [his son Nasser, related to] the Al-Makaseb Company, which was done, and the arbitrator acted. He complained that there was talk again of forming a court. I told Mr. Hashemi [Shahroudi, Head of the Judiciary], who replied that the judge considers Mr. Nasser Tabasi innocent and he will be acquitted in court. They also talked about the rumor of exerting influence in the matter of the mobile [prepaid two-million line] tender. They said that the Alcatel representative in Iran filed a complaint, and it was not raised as an act of exerting influence.

These past two or three days, we have had good rain in many parts of the country. A good rain is falling now too.

In Serbia, the election failed once again due to the lack of the required quorum of participants.