Akbar Hashemi Memoirs - January 1, 2003

Kharazi, Iran's Ambassador to France, expressing concern over the state of the country's management and foreign policy, and the loss of favorable opportunities despite Iran's geopolitical position, as well as the management weaknesses of the government and the judiciary, and the Leadership's policies. I explained the problems caused by the two extremist groups of the Left and the Right.

Full Text of the Diary:

Dr. [Nosratollah] Zargham, head of the office of Mr. [Mohammad-Reza] Aref [First Vice President] and former deputy to Mr. [Hamid] Mirzadeh at the Plan and Budget Organization, came. He brought the results of the Biotechnology Commission's work, which was formed in 2002 (1374 AP) at my command; the current state of human and technical resources and materials in that field, the current global situation, and development strategies have been gathered. He said that by using the Baldrige [Excellence] model in America, we have prepared a model to evaluate the services of ministries annually.

Mr. Sadegh Kharazi, Iran's Ambassador to France, came. He expressed concern about the state of the country's management and foreign policy, the loss of favorable opportunities due to Iran's geopolitical position, the weak management of the government and the judiciary, and the Leadership's policies. He asked me to consider a solution and said that caring individuals and circles have their hopes pinned on you. I explained the problems caused by the two extremist groups of the Left and the Right.

In the afternoon, Mr. [Ali] Aghamohammadi [Head of the Iraq Committee] came. He gave a report on his trip to Iraq and Malaysia, cited examples of the Foreign Ministry's performance weaknesses, and suggested that the Kargozaran [Sazandegi Party] should participate in the city council elections without a coalition with the Mosharekat [Party]. Foreign media are showing sensitivity regarding the Leadership's remarks to the clerical representatives of the Parliament concerning the necessity of paying attention to the people's livelihood and avoiding wasting time on political issues, presenting it as opposition to the government and the Parliament.

A gasoline pipeline explosion between Ahvaz and Andimeshk, followed by a crowd gathering and a fire, has resulted in seven deaths and 20 injuries. Yesterday and today, six earthquakes with magnitudes between three and five occurred in various parts of Iran. Incidents related to Christmas celebrations left dozens dead worldwide, and celebration ceremonies in South Korea turned into demonstrations by tens of thousands of people against the United States.

In the United States, strict controls for inspecting outgoing and incoming passenger luggage have begun. In Israel, the Central Bank has stated that 2002 was the worst economic year in the 50-year history of the regime. The value of major Western stock markets has dropped by 30 percent, and [George W.] Bush [President of the United States] has stated that the American economy cannot endure a long war with Iraq.