Akbar Hashemi's Memoirs - October 9, 2002

  Aghazadeh suggested that now that we have the technology of enrichment and heavy water, we have introduced the position of power/ The leadership said that Mr. Khatami has protested for the recent bills [amending the election law and explaining the president's authority]

He has requested an explanation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the British Foreign Minister's trip to Iran.

Full diary text:

Mr. [Gholamreza] Aghazadeh, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization, came. He said that at the International Atomic Energy Agency, there is complete information about the ongoing projects in Isfahan, the enrichment in Kashan [= Natanz], and the heavy water project in Arak, and [Mohamed ElBaradei], the head of the Agency who is an Egyptian scientist, by showing satellite images, has asked him that it would be better for Iran to officially report these projects to the Agency and request inspections and monitoring of them to ensure their non-military nature, otherwise Western media will make a fuss and present Iran as a violator.

Mr. Aghazadeh suggested that now that we have enrichment and heavy water technology, we should present it from a position of strength, and so far it is legal and there is no objection, and he proposed a course of action for continuing work. He also said regarding the government's proposed bills that they were not seriously discussed in the cabinet session and were the opinion of a specific group, and he believes that Mr. Khatami [the President] sees the country's situation as more problematic in the coming years and has no solution. Apparently, the bills were presented as a way of escape, a pretext for failure, and occasionally as a reason for resignation; I said it is a mistake, and even if they are approved, it will not make any difference to Mr. Khatami's work, and if they are not approved and Mr. Khatami wants to resign on this pretext, he will be disgraced in history. He said that a group of close associates has driven the government to this point and that fundamentally Mr. Khatami lacks the power to make decisions and plan, and the country’s affairs are stalled because of these very doubts; he even does not give firm instructions to his ministers.

Mr. Hossein Rezvani, our new chargé d'affaires in the Czech Republic, has arrived. He spoke about his previous service in Indonesia and at the United Nations and requested assistance to raise the level of relations—which is currently at the chargé d'affaires level. Due to Iran lowering the level of relations and reducing cooperation with the country because of its acceptance of the anti-revolutionary Radio Azadi and submission to U.S. pressure, he has now been instructed that the level of relations should remain as it is. I said that, in principle, besides this objectionable act of accepting Radio Azadi, the Czech Republic has also poorly conducted itself in the construction of the Iranshahr power plant and the massive Jajarm aluminum factory, undermining Iran’s trust. It should be communicated to them that if these issues are rectified, there will be room to upgrade the level of relations.

In the afternoon, [Mr. Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah], the Kuwaiti Minister of Defense, came along with a number of Kuwaiti military commanders. Once again, he expressed regret and apologized for the help provided to the Iraqi government during the Iran-Iraq war, and said that there is no option but to remove Saddam [Hussein, President of Iraq], and if he remains, he will be a source of disturbance in the region. I also said that we share this position and the world agrees that Iraq must be disarmed, but the important issue is the danger of America itself, which, if it becomes dominant in Iraq, will create more evil in the region; there was no answer to this problem. The accompanying military officers said that the American military claims that the U.S. has decided to remove Saddam and, if necessary, will intervene militarily. For an all-out war, about 500,000 forces should be anticipated, which they currently do not have in the region.

The British party has finally agreed with the British and US cooperation [in the war with Iraq], and [US President George], [US President], has signed the US Consumerist on Jerusalem as the capital of Israel;  The thing [Bill] Clinton did not do it.  At the meeting of the Minister of Defense, I discussed.

I was a guest at night.  I put forward Mr. Ghazadeh's suggestion;  They have no opposition, but they are waiting for more expertise.  They said Mr. Khatami has protested for recent bills [amending the election law and explaining the president's powers] and said that given all the problems of the people and the danger of the world, it is not possible to plan such seizures.  We also negotiate about Iraq and the possible war issues.  He has asked the Foreign Ministry to explain about the British Foreign Minister Jack Straw's visit to Iran and has ordered a explicit approach to opposition to the British -American war in the region.  We have also negotiated about the possibility of leaving the sovereignty of the left -wing left, as well as the supervision of the overall policies.