Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – February 24, 1998

In the reports, most countries have approved the Annan-Saddam agreement. America and its companions still say they are waiting for more information about the details and will not withdraw the forces before they are sure.

A group of companions—Messrs. Hossein Kamali, Abbas Akhoundi, Issa Kalantari, Mohammad Hossein Rezaei, Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, Abdolhossein Vahaji, Mohammad Reza Nouri, and Mohammad Ali Hadi [Najafabadi]—came and gave a report on the results of their negotiations with their Saudi counterparts. We summarized and examined the manner of follow-up.

I had a press conference in the amphitheater of the residence; it lasted about two hours. I answered all the questions about regional and bilateral cooperation with Saudi Arabia, the Iraq crisis, the three islands, and so on.

After the prayer and lunch and before the arrival of Prince Abdullah, [the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia], for the meeting, we had another meeting with the companions. They raised their own demands for me to raise with the Prince. In the hall of the palace I ran into General Hossein Ershad, the former President of Bangladesh, who has recently been released from prison; I greeted him. He said he has come to Saudi Arabia for a checkup.

Prince Abdullah came. The beginning of the session was with the companions present. Generalities were discussed; including the confirmation of the necessity of forming a joint commission, and then at his proposal we made the session private with our translator present. Prince Abdullah said several points:

1- The importance of the existence of trust in the relations of the two countries, which I too confirmed.

2- His negotiation with Egypt about improving Egypt-Iran relations, which finally Mr. Hosni Mubarak, [the President of Egypt], has announced is ready to resume relations with Iran, and I said we will follow up.

3- He has also spoken with America about resuming relations with Iran. The Americans have said that the direction of movement is toward reform. I said that in Iran, opposition to America is strong.

4- Regarding Iraq, he said that Saddam Hussein [the President of Iraq] is a liar and untrustworthy and the crisis may recur.

4- At my request, he agreed that 10 thousand pilgrims be added to the number of Iran's pilgrims.

5- He said it has been arranged that the door of the Holy Kaaba and the shrine of the Prophet (PBUH) be opened for me; he asked that the ladies not enter, because the Saudi clerics oppose it. Regarding the text of the two countries' statement on oil, we reached agreement. Together we moved toward the airport. On the way, the text of the joint statement was read and we agreed.

For the send-off of the delegation, as on the day of arrival, they held a ceremony with the bringing of figures and a guard of honor, which shows extraordinary attention. We flew toward Medina at three-thirty by a Saudi Boeing plane. On the way, I recounted the private negotiations with Prince Abdullah to the companions and told the translator to prepare a full report. Between Riyadh and Medina, from the air we saw a number of agricultural farms with pressurized irrigation.

At Medina Airport, the deputy of the Prince and other heads of the region welcomed. They said the Prince is on leave and has gone to the desert. After a little rest and talk, we moved toward Medina. We went to the residence: the "Oberoi" Hotel in the north of the Holy Shrine, from the windows of our rooms the shrine and Baqi' are visible, and it is very pleasant. Until night I engaged in study and pilgrimage and prayer in the hotel. Then, for the dinner banquet ceremony that the Prince's deputy had arranged with the presence of the main officials of Medina, I went to the assembly hall. The quality of their dinner was better than the foods of Riyadh.

During dinner, I asked him many questions. He said the Medina region is one-fourth of Saudi Arabia's soil, including seven provinces and 400 villages and dozens of centers. Part of the city's water is brought by a 200-kilometer pipeline from the wells, and part from the source of the desalination plants on the Red Sea coast. The city's population is one million two hundred thousand.

After dinner we returned to the hotel and went together for the pilgrimage of the Holy Shrine, which they had cleared for us. Usually at this hour of the night, they close the shrine, and they had left it open for us. All the companions were there. The pilgrimage, first in the quiet environment of the shrine, was very soothing and pleasant. It was arranged that they would open the door of the holy shrine for us. The companions rushed behind the shrine door. They wanted a limited number to enter; for this reason the work was delayed. So I went to see the newly built section of the shrine, which is almost ten times the previous area. From inside the shrine and the roof and outside the shrine, I saw the various sections. The opening and closing of the roof of the numerous courtyards of the shrine is very interesting and useful. The pleasant air of the shrine and the beauty of the buildings are very noteworthy. From behind the fences of Baqi' too we sent greetings to the pure Imams.

They announced that the shrine was ready for entry. We returned, they opened the door. I and a number of the companions went inside the large shrine that contains the graves of the Prophet (PBUH) and Abu Bakr and Umar and so on. I had a good feeling, but they did not allow the rest of the companions and the women either; for this reason I was vexed. The companions were crying, especially Mona, Faezeh's daughter, who cried a lot.

We returned to the hotel. I slept with extreme fatigue. Effat too arrived a little later. She was upset about the disorderliness of the companions that caused many to be deprived of entering the shrine area.