Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – January 16, 1991

I woke up around six in the morning. Due to the approaching Iraq deadline, I listened to the reports and news of the Farsi section of the British [BBC] radio and the Voice of America. Even though the inflammation is high, after the deadline, war was not declared and statements were made that would give a possibility of compromise.

At nine o'clock in the morning, [Mr. Jalil Besharti], the head of the deprived areas office, came. Reported work and received remittances. A group of Lebanese Hezbollah officials came. They criticized the situation in the Persian Gulf and the conditions in the region and reported on the situation in Lebanon. They asked about negotiating with the Israelis to exchange some bodies of their captives.

I had a meeting with the Libyan delegation headed by Mr. [Abdul Salam] Jallud, [Prime Minister of Libya]. As usual, they talked about the fight against imperialism and the cooperation of Islamic countries and nations. He wanted to help Iraq in the fight against multinationals. After the official negotiations, he asked for a private time; They talked privately for a while.

He told about his negotiations with Saddam. He believes that Saddam will not fail and a war will break out and Israel will enter the campaign and the governments of Syria and Egypt will fall with a coup because of their cooperation with America. He said that Saddam asked him to take action to improve the relations between Iraq and Iran and said that the attack on Iran was one of the most important mistakes of his life. I said that if he is honest, he should release the rest of our prisoners and hand over the hypocrites.

Asr Mohsen, [Head of the President's Inspection Office] came. There were reports about Tarbiat Modares University and also the problem of fuel in factories. I attended the meeting of the government board. In the evening news, even though the risk of war is high, they do not say that the war will happen definitively. The effects and conditions of the conflict, such as the increase in insurances, the suspension of flights to the region, and the departure of foreigners from the region, are appearing. I came home at night. From the interview of Turgut Özal, [President of Türkiye], the possibility of an American attack on Iraq in the near future comes.