Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – November 16, 1988

I arrived at the airport at quarter past eight and boarded the plane immediately. There were representatives of Khuzestan and the heads of two offices [the Presidency of the Islamic Council and the Office of the Commander-in-Chief]. At the airport, they said that the President of Kenya would like to have a second meeting with me or talk on the phone. I said we are talking about Ahvaz. On the way, we talked with the representatives about the situation in Khuzestan.

We arrived at Ahvaz airport at 9:30 and the official welcome - for the first time since the start of the war - took place. After a short telephone interview, we went to the gendarmerie guest house. After the preliminary negotiations with [Mr. Mohsen Mirdamadi] the governor and [Ayatollah Mousavi Jazayeri] the Friday imam [Ahvaz], I went to the administrative council meeting. The governor gave a report and I had a detailed conversation and answered questions. The questions were political and economic.

I had lunch with the clerics of the region and then we had a meeting with them. Most of the audience were young Arab students. An Arab poet named "Shabari" read a poem about me and said good luck, and Mr. [Mousavi] Jazayeri, Imam of Juma [Ahvaz] and the Imam's representative [in Khuzestan province] also said good luck and pointed out the problem of shortages. I also spoke in detail about the role and duties of the clergy in the revolution.

He listened to the news and rested until half past three. The announcement of the interim government in the independent state of Palestine in the West Bank of the Jordan River and the acceptance of the official existence of Israel by the Palestinians is the most important issue of the day in the world.

At half past three, the Friday imams of Khuzestan came. The needs and problems of Friday imams' work were discussed. They wanted to formalize the institution of Friday Imamate. I said that these matters should be decided in the national seminar of Friday imams, and they expressed their satisfaction with the deportation of a number of Khuzestan Arab sheikhs who are against the revolution. Before participating in the public gathering, we went to Gulzar Shahada to visit the graves of the martyrs. Mr. Jazayeri said that about three thousand martyrs are buried there.

I went to the gathering place of the people in Ahvaz Grand Mosque. Mr. Jazayeri said welcome and I spoke in detail. I praised the resistance of the people of Khuzestan and promised extensive reconstruction. We returned to the guest house. On the way, people gathered together. After Maghrib and Isha prayers, I participated in the gathering of academics in the guest house amphitheater.

The president of Shahid Chamran University and Ahvaz Medical School spoke. Most of the needs and shortages were said to be caused by the war, and the representative of academic jihad expressed the general problems, including the lack of professors and many students caused by the Islamic Azad University and accepting more students than the capacity of state universities. I also spoke in detail. I promised help and defended the necessity of accepting more students due to the country's needs and the abundance of volunteers, etc. and answered the questions. I participated in the meeting of officials and general managers of the province in the amphitheater. It took a long time to introduce and bring up the situation and needs of the province and reconstruction: the request to evacuate the places occupied by the IRGC and the Basij and the war, and to allow the villagers to return to the villages around Abadan and Khorramshahr, and to provide construction and reconstruction needs and facilities to attract human forces, and to pay attention to cultural issues, especially the Arab youth, and many other things. After dinner, I came to my room to rest around ten o'clock at night. I greeted from home. I got the news at half past ten and went to sleep.