Memories of Akbar Hashemi - June 11, 2002

The leadership said that 35 people from the second of Khordad reformists, including five cabinet members, have written a detailed letter to him, criticizing their minority status in the Expediency Council and objecting to some other matters, as well as making excessive demands. They have been given a harsh response and have also complained about Mr. Khatami.

In Kermanshah, Hezbollah has disrupted the second meeting of the June 2 Movement, and a group has been injured in the scuffle.

Complete text of the daily report:

IRIB announced that starting today it will broadcast a half-hour radio program in Hebrew called "The Voice of David" [for Jews outside Iran], and Israel welcomes it, even though it is angry and thinks it is retaliation, saying that the six-pointed Star of David, which is the symbol of Zionism, is crystallized in this program and is a proof of Israel's legitimacy.  

U.S. Attorney John Ashcraft has announced that he has arrested an American named Joseph, formerly known as Abdullah, in Chicago who was planning to detonate a nuclear-contaminated bomb in the United States, and said that Abu Zubaydah, a key member of al-Qaeda who is now in captivity, provided this information to the United States. Two days ago, a statement was issued in the name of Al-Qaeda that they will soon start fighting against the United States with unconventional weapons of the nuclear, microbial and chemical types, and it may take up to four million casualties from the United States. [Vice President] Dick Cheney and [George] Bush have also considered the danger important and have said that they must take preventive measures.

Bush, [the President of the United States], after meeting with [Ariel] Sharon, [the Prime Minister of Israel], announced that the time is not yet right for implementing the peace plan and that the government of [Yasser] Arafat is not to be trusted. In Afghanistan, it has now become clear that the delay in the Loya Jirga meeting is due to pressure on Zahir Shah to dissuade him from candidacy in the Loya Jirga, forcing him to declare that he is not a candidate for government leadership; even though many leaders of the Pashtuns insist that Zahir Shah should be the head of the government. It is evident that this pressure from the U.S. will complicate matters in the future for the administration of Afghanistan.

Commander [Seyyed Mohammad] Hejazi, the commander of the Basij, and Commander Shirazi, the commander of Basij intelligence, came and presented a report on organizing Basij intelligence to compensate for the lack of cooperation from the Ministry of Intelligence. The commanders of the Basij and intelligence from across the country came; about 500 people. Mr. Shirazi reported, and I gave a detailed talk about the conditions of the time and the duties of the Basij; they are very enthusiastic. Mr. [Hassan] Khalilian, the advisor to the Minister of the Interior, came. He criticized the factional biases of the government and the parliament and said that he was supposed to become the governor of Qom, but was rejected because he did not agree to cooperate with the Participation Party. He sees the country's problem as a weakness in management. Dr. [Seyyed Ahmad] Motamedi, the Minister of Communications, came. He presented a report on the performance of the Ministry [of Posts, Telegraph and Telephone] and said that today the penetration rate of landline phones in the country is 17 percent. The satellite contract for Zohreh will be signed soon. They have hired a British consultant to address mobile phone issues. In the evening, my brother Mohammad came to discuss the Strategic Research Center [of the Expediency Discernment Council] and the regulations overseeing general policies.

I went to visit the leadership; they are still not completely well and the pain has also spread to the right leg. They said that 35 people from the Second Khordad group, including five members of the cabinet, wrote a harsh detailed letter to him and criticized him for being in the minority in the Expediency Council and objected to some other matters, complicating issues. A sharp reply was given to them, and they protested against Mr. Khatami, the President.Their view is that America prefers to see Zahir Shah elected instead of Hamid Karzai in the Loya Jirga, and Iran should oppose this. Today, the Loya Jirga finally started working, and the Minister of Interior resigned in favor of the Pashtuns. A serious disagreement is predicted regarding the distribution of positions. Israel continues its malevolence in Palestine.In Kermanshah, Hezbollah disrupted the second Khordad group meeting, and during the clash, several people were injured.Today, a large warehouse of chemical products caught fire in southern Tehran.