Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – June 13, 1983

At two o'clock, after a short sleep, we woke up to eat the pre-dawn meal. Mehdi was not satisfied with the available food and ate something ready-made. Yaser was also at his maternal uncle's house.

After the prayer, I slept until seven in the morning and then began studying the reports. In the afternoon, I went to the Majlis. The Rules Commission and the meeting of the party representatives that I was supposed to attend were not held. Tired, I continued studying the reports.

[Mr. Salah Zawawi], the Palestinian ambassador, came to see me; he is worried about the situation of the Palestinians. They have become disillusioned with the Arab countries that have pushed them toward conservatism. In Lebanon and elsewhere, including Jordan, they are under pressure. He insisted that the Islamic Republic come to their aid and save them from their difficulties. Internal divisions are their major problem. He wanted Mr. the President to reply to [Yasser] Arafat's [leader of the PLO] letter; or for us to send a delegation there and invite Yasser Arafat. I said that inviting [Yasser] Arafat before an official change of position would be difficult. They also have administrative problems inside Iran.

For the iftar, a group of ministers and the President were guests at the Majlis to continue the discussion about the ministers' disagreements. We discussed matters until eleven at night; decisions were made about rice and price controls. We also decided on the government's right to submit any bill and to approve regulations. Effat and the children came to the Majlis and stayed the night. At dawn, we ate some of the same food from the iftar.