Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – March 26, 1999

The military attacks on Serbia continue within the designated target areas, using cruise missiles and aerial bombardment, generally targeting military facilities and sensitive military industries. Russia and China’s lack of any practical response is a clear indication of Russia’s weakness in supporting its traditional ally, Yugoslavia. After the [UN] Security Council meeting, last night they again limited themselves to words; economic, political, and even military weakness is the reason for this inaction.

In practice, the Western countries are the sole leaders of the world, and the United States leads the Western camp. A proposal has been put forward in the U.S. Congress aimed at weakening Yugoslavia’s military power and also removing Milošević, similar to the policy being pursued in Iraq. At one time, it was considered the world’s fifth-largest military power! Last night, some Yugoslav officials said that if the bombing stops, they are prepared to negotiate over the fate of Kosovo on the basis of the Rambouillet agreement. Kosovo had gained autonomy in 1969 through its struggle for self-government, but this was later revoked by the Serbs. The people of Kosovo now want independence, but Europe agrees only to autonomy, and they have accepted this as well.

The leaders of the European Union are monitoring the events in Serbia these days at the Berlin summit. They have also approved granting the Palestinians the right to self-determination in part of Palestinian territory, which has prompted strong opposition from Israel; they have moved ahead of the United States.

After prayers, I walked for a while along the shore. Fog had covered the atmosphere of Kish Island; I had never seen Kish covered in fog like this before. Many fish had come close to the shore, and the sea had brought a large amount of its waste ashore in the form of jelly-like plants.

Before noon, I visited several Kish projects that had been completed: a shopping mall, three hotels, and a qanat. I held discussions with Mr. Seyyed Mohammad Khamenei, [Mehdi] Karroubi, and [Mohammad Reza] Abbasi-Fard. With the Kish managers, I discussed the price of the contract for supplying fresh water; it seems expensive.

At six in the evening, we boarded the plane for the flight to Tehran. It turned out that one of the aircraft’s engines had a problem. I returned to the pavilion. At eight that evening, they announced that the problem had been resolved. Messrs. Mirzadeh and Yazdanpanah accompanied us to see us off. At a quarter to ten, we arrived at [Mehrabad Airport]. Fati called from the Plain of Mash'ar al-Haram and reported that she and her companions were safe.