Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – May 25, 1986

According to the reports, Iraq has bombed Gore and Omidiye pump houses and oil exports have been stopped. I told [Colonel Hoshang Sediq] the commander of the air force to retaliate and the artillery of the ground force was also told to retaliate.

Mr. [Mohsen] Kongerlo informed that the plane carrying the expensive American parts - which came with an Irish passport and has an Irish name - is in Tehran's airspace. I told Mr. Rouhani to cooperate in controlling parts and managing political issues and negotiations. I stayed in the meeting for a while and came to my office because of war issues.

Colonel Tarabi quoted Colonel Jamali that it is difficult for him to work under pressure. The representative and the governor of Dezful came and asked for help to save Dezful radio. [Ali] Agha Mohammadi came. We talked about operations inside Iraq and cooperation with Iraqi groups against Saddam and making special paper for banknotes. Mr. Qadri [the representative of Piranshahr] came and gave the situation of Akrad inside Iraq and the demands of the Barzanis. It was decided that we will serve the imam tomorrow for breaking the fast.

Mr. Lotfi informed that Iraq has chemically bombarded Mehran region. In the afternoon, the members of the Chamber of Commerce came and made proposals for the development of exports to replace the oil currency. I thought it was good. I told Mr. Ali Nasab to have a meeting with them and Mr. [Qurban Ali] to attend on my behalf.

In the evening, the helicopter pilot who shot down a plane in the Wal-Fajr Eight operation and then lost his eye in another bombing, came with his commander Mr. Ansari. They reported the work and told about the spirit of self-sacrifice of Hovanirouz pilots and himself and demanded more attention to Hovanirouz.

Mr. [Abdelreza] Asadnia [Ahvaz representative] came and was upset with the way the line was played in the parliament and more with the extremists. The new Chinese ambassador arrived. He had nothing new to say. We talked about the development of relations and I warned the Chinese not to think about relations with Israel. He did not like it.

Mr. [Ali] Shamkhani [commander of the IRGC ground forces] and Mr. [Mohammad Baqir] Qalibaf and [Qassem] Soleimani and... the commanders of the IRGC armies came. We discussed about taking back the city of Mehran from Iraq. They decided to act. They gave a bitter report about the retreats.

We were the guests of the Prime Minister for Iftar. Mr. [Mohsen] Kangerlu [Advisor to the Prime Minister] and [Ahmed] Vahidi [Information Officer of the IRGC] came. They reported the situation of the American delegation. They have brought a quarter of the requested hack parts. Mr. McFarlane, Reagan's special advisor, and other sensitive figures of America are on the board. They have brought sweets and sweets for the leaders of our country and they want to meet with the leaders. It was decided not to accept the gift and not meet and to keep the negotiations secret at the level of Dr. Hadi, Dr. Rohani, and Mahdinejad, and [negotiations] would be limited to the issue of the American hostages in Lebanon and the giving of Hawk parts and a few other types of weapons. They mostly want to negotiate on general and political issues. They want someone to stay permanently in their plane to communicate with the outside via satellite. We did not accept this either. Then, with their insistence, it was accepted to go to the plane for consultation and contact, if necessary.

They were supposed to stay in a place other than the hotel, but because there was no suitable place, they stayed in Azad Hotel. IRGC intelligence officers were told to protect them. Other issues such as war and budget were discussed. Our ambassador Salman Ghaffari came to the Vatican. I arrived home late.