Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – March 3, 1998

I woke up with the morning call to prayer and did not sleep again. After the morning prayer, I recited a fervent prayer; Because of the passion that the visit to the Kaaba has created in remembering the names and attributes of God, it was very soulful. Then we went to the shrine for the last Tawaf and got ready to leave Mecca. On the way to Abu Talib cemetery, we went for pilgrimage. Then we moved to Jeddah. We arrived at Jeddah airport at half past ten. Vice-emir of Makkah and Jeddah and other personalities came to see him off. We talked for a while and escorted them by the Saudi Airbus plane, we flew to Dhahran.

On the way, Mr. [Abbas] Akhundi expressed concern about the lack of control over intellectual lines and the political situation in the country on the occasion of yesterday's university events and movements related to Tehran municipality. We landed at Dahran airport at half past one in the afternoon. Emir of Sharqiya region, Prince Muhammad bin Fahd and regional leaders welcomed. After a little rest, we moved to Qasr al-Diyafe, which is between Dammam and Dhahran. Amir Mohammad was with me and explained about the situation in the three cities of Dammam, Al-Khobar and Dhahran. They are almost stuck together. Our residence, which is also the palace of King Fahd, is among them and is very large.

After prayer, lunch and rest, we went to see the Corniche of Dahran and Al-Khobar coasts, which has been built; It is not as good as Jeddah Cornish; He gave many explanations, including saying that here, in addition to interest-free loans, people are given free land to build houses. He said that the government pays 80% of urban construction costs. We prayed Maghrib and Isha prayers at the city hall. Then, from the maps, they explained the situation of the eastern region, which has ten governorates, oil and petrochemical industries, the important port of Abdul Aziz, and a population of about three and a half million people, plus half a million foreign workers.

We returned to the palace. Mr. Nouri Shahroudi, [Iranian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia] came. He said, it is possible that tomorrow when we go to see the Bahrain Bridge, the Emir of Bahrain will also come from that side. He suggested that I get warm and if he insists, go to Bahrain. I said, consult and investigate.

The head of the regional chamber of commerce came. He invited me to go to their party and thanked me for my services for developing relations and said that his wife is the sister of Morteza Firouzi, [editor of Iran News newspaper] who was recently sentenced to death in Iran and asked me to promise her over the phone that she will not be executed. took his phone; He was crying on the phone. I said that there is a strong possibility that he will not be executed.

At the Emir's banquet, like in other places, the elders of the region were invited and we had an introduction. They had also invited some Shiite scholars. Amirnaif's son was on the other side of me.

I asked many questions about the area. They said that Mr. Amir Abdullah has 25 children, Mr. Fahad has 10 children, and Mr. Nayef has 9 children. with multiple women. I asked about the number of Shiites in the Eastern region. They evaded the answer and said, we do not differentiate between Shia and Sunni. It seems that the majority of people are Shia. It was decided to open a flight between Iran and the Eastern region. He said, they are moving to the new airport. They put a lot of emphasis on traveling to Iran for fishing and recreation. I also emphasized more on the journey of people and merchants.

In the introductory meeting, the chief of judges was seated next to me; He is a dignified old man. I asked questions about the status of studying religious sciences; It turned out that education is gradually becoming formal, instead of study groups in mosques, and they expressed their happiness at the popularity of memorizing and reciting the Qur'an among young people.

Regarding the oil industry, they said that the management of the industry is under the control of the Saudi forces and said that they are carrying out the plan to organize the beaches by adapting the Jeddah beaches plan. I wanted to talk more with the Shia scholars who were at the party; It didn't happen. I told our ambassador to check if they want to arrange a detailed meeting.