Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – June 25, 1999

The United States has offered a five-million-dollar reward for information leading to the arrest of [Slobodan] Milošević, [the former President of Yugoslavia], and his associates as war criminals. In Kosovo, returning ethnic Albanian refugees are taking revenge on the Serb population who caused their displacement; chaos has ensued, and peacekeeping troops are unable to do much.

Since yesterday, Israel has launched numerous airstrikes against Lebanon. In Beirut and Baalbek, ten people have been killed and nine injured so far, with extensive destruction causing power, telephone, and water cutoffs. In retaliation, Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel, and Israel announced it will continue until Lebanon surrenders. [Ehud] Barak, [Prime Minister of Israel], placed the responsibility for the bombings on [Benjamin] Netanyahu's government, which is still currently in office.

I stayed home all day. Time was spent reading, resting, swimming, and exercising. I read about Abyssinia [Ethiopia]. Dr. [Seyed Mahmoud] Tabatabaei, former chancellor of Shahid Beheshti University, arrived. He expressed concern over the healthcare situation, medicine shortages, financial distress in hospitals, and disorder in universities.

Effat and [her brother] Kazem [Mar'ashi] left for Syria this afternoon. Mehdi, Yasser, and Fati brought dinner tonight: Olivier salad and sandwich bread; we ate together.