Memories of Akbar Hashemi - May 18, 2002

Mr. Tabbasi's dissatisfaction with the way he dealt with his son Nasser.

Dr. Alireza Noori's criticism of the return of his brother Mr. Abdollah Noori to prison before the complete treatment of his hand.

The dispute between Mr. Khatami and Mr. Heydar Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, during a joint press conference, was over Mr. Khatami's description of the 'Caspian Sea' as the 'Mazandaran Sea'.

Complete text of the daily report:

In the meeting of the [Expediency Council], the ceiling for foreign investment was set at 25% for each sector and 35% for each industry, and the condition of 'infrastructural and production' was added. State-owned companies were also prohibited from guaranteeing the return of investment.

During the noon gathering, [Messrs. Ahmad Jannati, Mohammad Yazdi, Abbas Vaez-Tabasi, Mohammad Ali Mohaddi Kermani, Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri, and Ghorbanali Dorr Najafabadi], Mr. Tabasi, [the custodian of the holy shrine of Imam Reza], expressed his dissatisfaction with the treatment of his son Nasser; despite the necessary guarantees being arranged, he was taken to [Evin] prison for several hours. The newspaper Siyasat-e Rouz also noted this in bold. It has been said that this news was amplified to prevent it from being interpreted as factional oppression in case Mr. Behzad Nabavi, [the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, in the Petropars case], faces repercussions. Overall, there was criticism regarding the approach to combating economic corruption. Mr. Nategh Nouri, [the president of the Leadership Inspection Office], explained the reasons behind the sparse attendance at Mr. Khatami's, [the president's], speeches in Mazandaran. A proposal for necessary actions to ensure security and economic prosperity was also raised by the leadership.

In the afternoon, Mr. Dr. Alireza Noori, [the representative of Tehran] came and criticized the return of his brother [Mr. Abdollah Noori, former Minister of Interior] to prison before the complete treatment of his hand, and proposed a conditional release for him using the law that allows the judge, after serving part of the prison sentence, to grant release if satisfied with the behavior of the prisoner.

Dr. [Mahmoud] Najafi, CEO of Daroupakhsh Company, and [Dr. Faraz Ekhtaraei], along with Dr. [Alireza] Noori, came. He mentioned that with the decrease of confiscated opium from traffickers and the increase in the consumption of codeine in pharmaceuticals and exports, a problem of raw material shortages has arisen. Considering the likelihood of reduced opium production in Afghanistan, he suggested that the [Discernment Council of the Expediency] amend its previous law - which banned opium poppy cultivation - to allow poppy cultivation under full control for medicinal purposes. They stated that Iran is one of the seven countries that are allowed to cultivate opium poppy.

A dispute has arisen between Mr. [Seyyed Mohammad] Khatami and Mr. Heydar Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan - who is currently in Iran - over Mr. Khatami's reference to the 'Caspian Sea' as the 'Mazandaran Sea' during a joint press interview.

On the India-Pakistan border, a limited clash has occurred again, and India has expelled the Pakistani ambassador, while casualties from the heat in southern India have reached 650.