Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – June 4, 1999

We went to the mausoleum for the tenth anniversary of Imam Khomeini’s passing. The Leader, the president, and the speaker of Parliament had arrived before me. Ayatollah Khamenei led the Friday prayers and delivered the sermons. Both sermons were about Imam Khomeini: the first addressed the Imam’s personal qualities, and the second focused on the characteristics of his path. He also made some pointed remarks directed at the opposing conservative faction, saying, for example, that newcomers were trying to portray themselves as advocates of freedom in opposition to the Revolution. He also made a mild criticism of the lack of attention to the people’s economic concerns. Foreign media interpreted this as opposition to Mr. [Seyyed Mohammad] Khatami, [the president], and so on.

A huge crowd had gathered. Mr. [Mohammad Ali] Ansari, [head of the administration of Imam Khomeini’s holy shrine], said that they were providing meals for one and a half million people. It had been planned that 600,000 people would come from other cities, based on the quotas allocated to them. The Leader did not stay for the afternoon prayer and entrusted me with leading it. The prayer niche was exposed to the sun and was hot. We returned home by helicopter. In the afternoon, my sisters Fatemeh and Sedigheh, daughters of Seyyed Hossein and old acquaintances from Noq, came to visit. I learned about the situation of the people in Bahreman.

At night, I went to the Imam’s mausoleum to deliver a speech. I spoke about Imam Khomeini, the 15 Khordad uprising, and the Arbaeen commemoration. Before the speech, at a gathering attended by several prominent figures, Mr. [Seyyed Mahmoud] Doa’i, [Tehran representative in Parliament and head of the Ettela’at Institute], who had accompanied Mr. [Seyyed Mohammad] Khatami to Saudi Arabia, said that Crown Prince Abdullah, [the crown prince of Saudi Arabia], had again emphasized during this visit that I, Hashemi, had laid the foundations for the new era of good relations between the two countries, beginning with the meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Mr. [Seyyed Mohammad Kazem] Khansari, [Iran’s ambassador to the Organization of the Islamic Conference], offered an analysis of the significant impact I had made on the Saudis at that summit. He said that when Crown Prince Abdullah waited for me to finish performing ablutions, then got into my car and accompanied me to the luncheon ceremony, the scene caused a sensation among the attendees and reporters, like a bomb going off.

I returned home late. The children had bought pizza from outside for dinner.