Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – March 28, 1999

I was at home. I spent most of my time reading the book Fundamentals of Botany, written by Dr. [Ahmad] Ghorbani. I came across some interesting material concerning the concept of pairing, which I intend to present in the next Friday Prayer as a scientific miracle of the Quran.

Effat went with Faezeh to Hamid Lahouti’s garden in the Tangar area of Gonbad [in Golestan Province]. Mohsen came at noon and brought sandwiches as well. I have a cold; I am using painkillers to alleviate its symptoms. Mohsen, [Chairman of the Board and Managing Director of the Tehran and Suburbs Urban Railway Company (Metro)], spoke about the Chinese’s long-term technical and financial proposal for extending Metro Line 1 to Imam Khomeini International Airport.

Ayatollah Khamenei went today to the Shalamcheh area to visit the graves of the martyrs of Shalamcheh, and spoke there in support of war veterans, Hezbollah, and the clergy. It seems that in the new year, he intends to have a greater presence in public affairs and in contentious issues.

It was announced that a U.S. F-117 fighter aircraft had been shot down in Serbia. Given its advanced technology and its ability to evade radar detection, its downing is significant, and Yugoslavia has said that it will make technological use of its wreckage. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow was attacked with bombs and grenades, and pressure is now being put on Mr. [Boris] Yeltsin, [President of Russia], to force Yugoslavia to surrender to the demands of the Western powers. Yugoslavia has increased the pressure on the people of Kosovo, and hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced. It has expelled Western journalists, who have gone to Macedonia, and because they are in constant contact with the displaced people and the people of Kosovo, they are broadcasting reports; the Yugoslav authorities have also become defiant and are broadcasting a great deal of negative news against Milošević, [President of Yugoslavia].