Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – May 13, 2003

A few hours before the arrival of Colin Powell [US Secretary of State] in Saudi Arabia, four bomb attacks were carried out on American residences in Riyadh in the middle of the night, one of which was carried by a car carrying explosives.  In the initial news, there was talk of three dead and 50 injured, but now at eight o'clock in the evening, Saudi sources say 20 dead and dozens injured, and American sources say 90 dead and 200 injured and attribute it to Al-Qaeda.  The United States has ordered the Americans living in Saudi Arabia not to leave their homes and to close schools and not to approach the windows and doors of houses. It is said that between 35,000 and 40,000 Americans live in Saudi Arabia.
In Afghanistan, several American centers have been attacked with bombs and missiles.  In America, the storm and the tornado, which blew at a speed of 300 km, killed about 50 people and caused many injuries and damage.
In England, Mrs. Claire Short, the minister of international aid of the cabinet, who was called the "conscience of the cabinet", resigned in protest of the behavior of [Tony] Blair, [the British prime minister] in Iraq and said that the promises she made were not fulfilled and they immediately appointed her successor.
Mr. [Gholamreza] Forozesh came.  He brought the constitution of the Foundation of Africa and talked about the lack of spirit of the middle managers and the differences between the Ministry of State and the city councils.  Mr. Najmuddin Etemadzadeh was a preacher in Tehran and a friend before the revolution.  Both for greeting and for help for his son's work at Azad Islamic University.
Mr. [Mohammed Hasan] Qadiri Abianeh, [Advisor of Strategic Research Center] came;  To negotiate about the book he is writing "McFarlane's Story" and also to explain the works of the film [Eduardo Agnelli], the son of the owner of the [automotive company] Fiat, who goes to universities to explain.  
In the evening, the minority representatives of the parliament came and criticized the second movement of Khordadis.  They asked me to be ready for the future management of the country and expressed their concern and demanded a solution.  I gave them soothing talks about the political and economic problems of the country and the threats of America;  They left satisfied. 
In Chechnya, 70 people have been killed and 250 injured as a result of guerrilla attacks.  Mohsen quoted [Mr. Liu Zhentang], the Chinese ambassador, that it is possible that the SARS virus was spread by China's enemies.