Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – August 18, 1982

I did not go to the Majlis because of an appointment to see the Imam. The session was chaired by Mr [Mohammad] Yazdi. A group of us from the Indian delegation went to visit the Imam and gave him our report. The Imam was displeased with the harsh treatment of ministers by the Majlis deputies and ordered that unity be preserved, that certain criticisms be raised in private, and, regarding the housing minister's impeachment, he said it would be preferable to withdraw it.

I stayed at home until the afternoon. At four o'clock in the afternoon, I went to meet Ayatollah I went to the Heart Hospital with [Mohammadreza] Golpayegani, Mr [Sadeq] Ehsanbakhsh and Mr [Seyyed Mohammad Ali] Ghazi, the Friday Imam of Dezful. Ayatollah Golpayegani, whose pelvis was broken, has had an operation and a plate has been fitted into his bone. At his age, he has tolerated the operation well; he is in good spirits.

I attended the Bureau meeting of the Parliament. In light of the Imam's remarks, we decided that the vote of no confidence would not take place tomorrow. After the meeting, the Minister of Housing and his deputies came and we discussed the matter.

In the evening, we had a meeting at the President's office. We discussed the state of the prisons and the excesses of the Revolutionary Courts. We also spoke about the results of my trip to India and the Non-Aligned Foreign Ministers' Conference, where a dispute had arisen between Iraq and Cuba.

The Oil Ministry reported that Iraq had attacked Kharg Island; two oil depots had caught fire and the oil supply from the jetty had been cut off, but two ships were still unloading at the Azarpad jetty and they too were frightened. We contacted the naval, air and ground forces headquarters and it was agreed that a retaliatory strike would be carried out tomorrow. We summoned Colonel [Ali] Sayyad-Shirazi and decided to become more active on the ground. He explained their plans in the West and South.