Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – April 12, 1999

We went from home to the International Exhibition for the International Congress of Dentists. We first visited dozens of exhibition booths. Most dental consumables and many dental instruments are manufactured domestically, and in many cases exports have also begun. We attended the congress, which was attended by thousands of Iranian dentists and a group of foreign dentists. Dr. [Abbas Honardoust, Chairman of the Board of the Iranian Dental Association] and Dr. [Amirhossein] Kambouzia, [Secretary of the Dental Congress], welcomed us and gave reports. I also delivered a speech on the achievements of reconstruction in terms of human-resource training and the production of industrial necessities. Dr. Saeed [Lahouti, Fati’s husband] was also with us. On the way, we went to Shahid Beheshti Street for the funeral procession of Martyr [Ali] Sayyad Shirazi. I got out in front of the coffin, but the enormous gathering of people and their extraordinary outpouring of emotion prevented us from reaching it.

I went to my office. The officials in charge of financial affairs came. They gave reports and explained their needs. In the afternoon, the commanders of the Muhammad Rasulullah (PBUH) Division came. Mr. [Ismail] Kowsari and Mr. [Hassan] Mohaghegh explained the division’s situation and expressed their appreciation for my decisions and their impact during the war, particularly the fateful decision to carry out Operation Karbala-5. Despite the opposition of the military commanders, the defeat of Karbala-4 was turned into the major victory of Karbala-5, and we advanced to near Basra. They asked me to write something for the books they had prepared on the history of the division. I then gave them an encouraging speech.

[Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal] and his delegation came. He praised me extensively for the positive results of my visit to Saudi Arabia and the impact it had had on the people and officials. He said that his daughters asked him to bring them to Iran, especially to meet Faezeh and learn courage from her. He had good proposals regarding oil prices. We discussed the situation in Iraq and Kosovo and his trip to Russia. He said that he had told the Russians, “[Slobodan] Milošević, [President of Yugoslavia], is carrying out ethnic cleansing against Muslims, and you are supporting him.” He said that it was unclear whether the desired result could be achieved without NATO ground forces becoming involved. He said that displacing the Kosovars to distant countries would cause them not to return to the region and that it would be better for them not to remain in the Balkans, and that Islamic countries should help them. He promised that, at the next summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Saudi Arabia would prevent the issuance of a statement against Iran.