Akbar Hashemi’s Memoirs – December 18, 2002

Last night and today, there was a good snowfall in many parts of the country, including Tehran. At eight o'clock in the morning, we went to the [Shahid] Kolahdooz Hall at the IRGC headquarters for the opening of the IRGC Combat Engineering and Construction Conference. Parts of the Jihad [Construction] and the Army were also present; about three thousand people. It was a magnificent meeting. Mr. Rahim Safavi, [Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC], gave the welcoming speech. I also delivered a detailed speech about the IRGC, defense, construction, combat engineering, current conditions, Iraq, and the United States.

We held a meeting with the deputies of the Center for Strategic Research [of the Expediency Discernment Council]. The discussions focused on the results of the Iraqi opposition conference, the possibility of a U.S. attack on Iraq, and its consequences. The opposition has determined the composition of the committee to be 55% Shiite, with the rest being Kurds and Sunnis.

In the afternoon, a group of Qom residents living in the capital, who are working toward the development of Qom, came to visit. Mr. [Mohammad-Reza] Vafaei, [Secretary-General of the Qom Residents of Tehran], gave a report, and I spoke about Qom's worthiness for further attention.

The United States has summarized Iraq's 12,000-page report into 3,000 pages to provide to the other members of the [UN] Security Council. Previously, it was said to be 24,000 pages; it is appropriate for Iran to try to obtain a copy of it. [Colin Powell], the U.S. Secretary of State, has explicitly announced that U.S. policy involves intervening in the affairs of Middle Eastern countries to bring about fundamental changes, mainly through the media.

The United States has begun deploying anti-missile missiles in the Western U.S. and Alaska and has asked Britain and Denmark to also establish such bases to protect the Eastern U.S. Russia and China have strongly protested this U.S. decision, believing that this action intensifies the arms race.

A group of Iranians who visited the U.S. immigration office today for fingerprinting were insulted, and some were detained, causing them anger and fear.

The United States has once again protested against Egypt for broadcasting the anti-Zionist series "Horseman Without a Horse" during Ramadan, and some [Congress] representatives have proposed cutting U.S. aid to Egypt. A leader of the U.S. Republican Party stated that the policy of racial segregation was more beneficial for America than the policy of ending discrimination against Black people, which has been severely protested by liberal and human rights circles. The Mount Etna volcano [in northeastern Sicily], Italy, has been active for weeks and is causing damage as it advances.