Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – July 11, 1982

At seven, I went to the Parliament. Before the open session, I read the reports, and at eight the session began. I was in the session until noon. At noon, the wife of Colonel Dehqan came and asked for help to save her husband—who had been arrested eight months earlier on charges of misconduct in procurement for the Ministry of Defense. He had been the deputy for logistics at the Ministry of Defense and was also accused of being a Tudeh sympathizer, but this has not been proven.

Mr. [Mohammad Ali] Movahedi Kermani, who is heading a delegation to African countries on the occasion of Quds Day, came and consulted about the four countries of his mission. After prayer and rest, I did a television interview about Palestine on the occasion of Quds Day.

I attended the meeting of the Central Council of the party at the President's office. Mr. [Abdolmajid] Moadikhah [the Minister of Islamic Guidance] gave a report on his trip to Saudi Arabia. He had gone to resolve the problems of the pilgrims' journey and said that they were willing to enter into negotiations on political issues for understanding, but he had told them that he had only come for the Hajj pilgrimage.

We were all guests of the President for iftar, with parliamentary food; then I consulted with him and the Prime Minister about the war, the cabinet, and other issues. I came to the Parliament to sleep. I listened to the news on the radio at midnight. Iraqi refugees in Iran were protesting in front of the Parliament, demanding that we enter Iraqi territory. Mr. Mohammad Yazdi [the Deputy Speaker of Parliament] had spoken to them. But it became clear that they were not convinced, and they sent word that, like many of our own forces, they had expected that after the liberation of Khorramshahr, our operations would not stop and we would pursue the Iraqi forces deep into Iraqi territory.

They have no knowledge of our decisions, negotiations, and capabilities, and what is surprising is that even the volunteer combatants, who themselves know that for a major operation we must work for a while, prepare fresh and rested forces, and provide logistical support for the war, they too express dissatisfaction with the delay in operations; there is intense pressure on the commanders, and this impatience is also evident in Parliament.

Perhaps due to the rumors of opponents and propaganda of the Westerners and Arabs to weaken the morale of the combatants, they are worried about a ceasefire. Although the majority know that in a situation where the arrogant powers' propaganda machines want to portray Iran as warmongering, it is not right to beat the drums of war; although in practice and at the right time, we will do our work. I had my pre-dawn meal alone.