Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – September 13, 1982

I'm alone at home. I studied and wrote continuously until twelve o'clock. The children, who had gone to a horse riding competition, came back after lunch. In the afternoon, Ahmad Iskandar, the Minister of Information, and Nasser Qaddoureh, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Syria, came with Dr. Velayati. Their aim was to clarify the situation of the Arab leaders' conference and Syria's position, especially regarding Iraq, which overall meant reassuring us about Mr. Hafez al-Assad's remarks, in which, during a three-hour speech, he had defended the Islamic Republic of Iran and attacked Saddam,

He recounted the effects they had had in moderating the Arab leaders' resolution regarding Israel and the Palestinians, and denied the adoption of the resolution concerning support for Iraq. He said that King Hassan had wanted to attribute it to the conference, but Syria objected, and although he had said that no objection had been received, Syria had submitted a written objection. He also said that Saudi Arabia's position and that of the Gulf sheikhs had not been bad either.

I spoke by phone with Mr. Khamenei and Mr. [Mir-Hossein] Mousavi about the country's current issues, and also with Mr. Sarfarazi about holding a meeting to review the Assembly of Experts candidates and how to proceed. At night, I mostly listened to the news.