Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – September 11, 2001 - Hashemi Rafsanjani’s account of hearing about the September 11 events in the U.S. during his trip and his initial analysis

Hashemi Rafsanjani’s account of hearing about the September 11 events in the U.S. during his trip and his initial analysis.
Continuation of the trip to East Azerbaijan province.

Full daily entry:

From 5 to 8:30 a.m., I spent time reading and catching up on the news. I had breakfast with [Mr. Yahya Mohammadzadeh], the governor. He informed me that during the revolutionary days in Azarshahr, a few police officers were killed by the people, and now the case is being handled by a judge, with local media covering it.

A group of Quran reciters came, including a three-and-a-half-year-old boy who had memorized three and a half sections of the Quran and some elderly women who had memorized the entire Quran. They performed a program. They belong to the Mahd-e Quran organization. Effat [my wife] also attended the session and gave them gifts.

We then visited the Ark of [Ali Shah], a massive structure from the Mongol era. It's a huge iwan with a mihrab, covering ten hectares of land. Part of it is now a prayer hall (mosalla), and the other part is being excavated for foundation work. The Cultural Heritage Organization opposes this, which had halted the work for years, but they have now reached an agreement, and construction has resumed. The attendees didn't have enough information on its history, so they agreed to provide a written document.

We attended a session of Basiji women, held in celebration of Women’s Week. There were 2,000 participants, and the atmosphere was lively. The host and head of the Basiji women praised the event and harshly criticized the extreme factions on both the left and right for opposing moderation. I gave a lengthy speech.

We then traveled to the new city of Sahand. Engineer [Ali] Abdolalizadeh, the Minister of Housing, also joined us. We toured the city by car. About 1,500 housing units have been completed, with another 1,000 under construction. The residents gave us a warm reception and requested gas, better roads, and telecommunications services. The development started during the Reconstruction era, and Sahand Industrial University is also located there. The university has 450,000 square meters of land, with plans for 800,000 square meters of buildings, of which 30,000 square meters are currently under construction. Some of the laboratories have been completed. We visited the site and listened to explanations from Dr. [Mohammad Ali] Keynejad, the university president.

After prayers, lunch, and some rest, at 4 p.m., we headed to the city of Ajabshir, [located 90 kilometers from Tabriz] on the shores of Lake Urmia. Near the village of [Bandar] Rahmanloo, we stopped by the lakeshore. The head of the Environmental Protection Department, the Friday prayer leader, and the governor were present. [Engineer Ebrahimi], the head of the Environmental Protection Department, claimed that nearly half of the lake's 42 billion cubic meters of water had disappeared, and the lake's water level had dropped by four meters. Some locals were swimming there.

We went to the Rahmanloo port dock. Environmental officials showed us that the lake’s water level had dropped by nearly three meters. The governor did not agree with these figures. The locals of Rahmanloo asked for help to compensate for the drought and proposed deepening the wells.

We then traveled to the city of Bonab, arriving at 6:30 p.m. at the newly built seminary in Bonab, constructed by the [Bagheri] Bonabi brothers. It's a large seminary with 94,000 square meters of land and around 30,000 square meters of buildings. I helped them acquire the land and funding.

A large crowd of students and people had gathered. Hojjatoleslam Sheikh Mostafa [Bagheri] Bonabi delivered a warm welcome and gave a rare tribute to my services during the revolution, the war, the reconstruction, and my scholarly and missionary efforts. I gave a detailed speech on the importance of the clergy, religious schools, and Shiism throughout the history of Islam and Iran. We toured various parts of the seminary and went up to the rooftop of the third floor to enjoy the surrounding views.

[Today is September 11.] Suddenly, around 7:30 p.m., while we were on the rooftop, my companions informed me of breaking news. They said that news agencies are reporting that eight American planes have been hijacked simultaneously in U.S. airspace. So far, three of them have crashed into the World Trade Center skyscrapers [in New York] and the Pentagon, with both 110-story towers of the World Trade Center completely destroyed, burying thousands under the rubble. Part of the Pentagon has also been destroyed, and there have been massive explosions at the U.S. State Department and Congress. Americans are anxiously awaiting the fate of the remaining five planes.

We performed the Maghrib and Isha prayers in congregation in the seminary courtyard. We then went to the Bonabi brothers' orchard. We watched the 9 p.m. news. The situation in America is extremely serious. All U.S. airports have been shut down. There is widespread panic in America and Western countries, with U.S. and Israeli embassies worldwide closing down.

An emergency state has been declared across America, and the armies of many Western countries, including Russia, are on high alert. Dozens of U.S. fighter jets are patrolling American airspace to monitor the remaining hijacked planes. Gradually, America is imposing a news blackout.

The finger of blame is being pointed at the Palestinians, [Osama] bin Laden, [leader of the al-Qaeda group], and Japan’s Red Army, though these are just speculations and rumors. [George W.] Bush, [President of the United States], has threatened retaliation. In Palestine, people are celebrating the incident with demonstrations. New reports are being released by the minute.

Burhanuddin Rabbani, [President of Afghanistan in exile], has announced that Ahmad Shah Massoud, [Minister of Defense], is alive but injured, and he has appointed General [Mohammad Qasim] Fahim in his place.

The family members of our host, Mr. Bonabi, including his daughters, sons, and relatives, gathered. We took photos and made introductions. Late at night, I read the news on the computer. The world is in turmoil.