Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – October 1, 1982

I stayed at home. Friday prayers were led by Mr. [Seyyed Abdolkarim Mousavi] Ardebili. Early in the morning, Mr. [Ali] Sayyad Shirazi called from the front and reported that last night's operation had been successful; so far, eighty percent of the objectives had been secured and Iraq's counterattack had been repelled. It was decided that publicity should be handled carefully. I spoke with Mr. [Seyyed Kamal] Kharazi [head of the War Publicity Headquarters] and my brother Mohammad [head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting] about this.

Fa'ezeh had invited her cousins over for lunch. Last night she had invited her uncle, and the night before, her aunt's children. She says she gets lonely when she's home alone. She has taken leave from her job as a physical education teacher and has enrolled in a university entrance exam preparation course. By noon, news of the operation was complete and all the objectives had been secured. In the afternoon, Mr. Rahimian, an old friend from Isfahan, came to see me and brought some gaz. At night, Ahmad Agha came and sought advice on various matters.

Around eight-thirty, a massive explosion occurred in Imam Square near the telecommunications office, and its sound was clearly heard in Jamaran. News arrived that a truck carrying TNT had exploded in front of an inn, apparently containing one hundred and fifty kilograms of explosives. A five-story inn was completely destroyed, several other inns were damaged, hundreds of people were injured, and dozens were killed. The telecommunications office was also damaged, and apparently the power had been cut. They are probably Iraq's fifth column, acting in response to last night's attack. In the afternoon, I watched a film of interviews with twenty-nine repentant members of the mohareb [armed opposition] groups.