Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – January 11, 1986

I woke up during the morning call to prayer. Yasir studied to prepare for the exam. Mehdi slept after the prayer and I went to work. At 7:30 in the morning, the official staff meeting was held. The discussion continued until half past ten. The meeting was generally good and successful. There is better coordination and facilities than ever.

In the afternoon, we went to the Lashkar barracks, but in the evening, we went to the army camp on Andimshek-Ahvaz road. We prayed congregational prayers in the garrison mosque and I gave a speech to the commanders. After lunch and rest, at three o'clock, a meeting was held with the commanders of the divisions operating the future operations. They gave a detailed report on the readiness and maneuver of the operation. They have worked hard. They have prepared a detailed plan for crossing the water and many innovative facilities. Overall, it is promising and many of the problems in the past operations are not visible.

We prayed Maghrib there and returned to Dezful Air Base. I met with the commanders of the ground forces at the headquarters of the base. In this morning's meeting, I asked Colonel Ramin, the commander of the 92nd Division, for an explanation about Iraq's brief advance in the southern Majnoon Island. He did not have a proper defense. The Iraqis have advanced about one kilometer in the water. We have given about fifty martyrs, missing persons and prisoners. It was decided to hand over the line to the Corps. At night, we returned to Tehran by Simorgh plane. We were protected by fighters going back and forth. The Baathists do not shy away from hitting civilian planes.