Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – August 2, 1984

I went to the assembly early in the morning. I read the reports. The hijackers have announced their demand: "The release of the prisoners related to the attack on Bakhtiar's house in France" and have given a short deadline. [Mr. Hans Dietrich] German Foreign Minister Genscher has asked me to work to save the hostages and extend the deadline.

In the public session of the parliament, we had several bills and proposals. The demand for a vote of confidence in the government was supposed to be raised. There were legal issues. Fixing the problems was done with a three-urgency plan: "Legal enforcement permission before 15 days have passed."

In the afternoon, Mr. Sayad [Shirazi] came. I asked him for an explanation regarding the operation in case the commander of the operation is referred to him and the limits of the possibilities for victory.

In the evening, the directors and heads of education who are having a seminar in Tehran came. I gave a speech for them; I relied on training technicians in short courses. Mr. [Mohammed] Abayi [Khorasani] and Mr. [Mohammed] Jafari came. They complained about Mr. [Ahmad] Azri Qommi's statements in the parliament against the [Islamic Qom] Propaganda Office and wanted permission to defend themselves.

Parliamentary deputy ministers came. They said their needs and I also spoke. Mr. Daa'i from the party [Islamic Republic] came to Yazd and complained about Mr. [Mohammed Ali] Sadouqi's opposition to the party and that Mr. [Sheikh Fazlullah] Mahalati was obstructing Mr. Naseri's secretaryship.

Mr. [Mohsen] Rafiq Dost and Abu Khaled - Arafat's envoy - came. [Mr. Abu Khaled] gave information from within the Islamic Peace Committee in Jeddah and the positions of each of them and the committee's decisions. He said about the politics of [Yasser] Arafat [the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)]. He asked me to write a letter to Arafat and encourage him to adopt correct positions and prepare the way for Arafat to come to Iran. In the evening, the news arrived that the hijackers blew up the plane. I was upset. I had a slight fever since noon; I continued to work with housing. At night, I came home tired and feverish.