The afternoon prayer

The Global Threat

The afternoon prayer

An excerpt

The Iranian delegation of fifty six members was lodged at the Le Meridian hotel, while Rohanei and Zarif checked in at the Rocco Forte hotel. The delegation's head and the foreign affairs minister were lodged in a suite each one of them, while the rest of the delegation members had to settle for cheaper lodgings; no one among the delegation members dared to complain of course, they were thankful for having been chosen to join the delegation and thus get away from the oppressive regime of their country for a short while.

On Friday after having lunch with the entire delegation's members at the hotel's dining hall, Rohanei and Zarif retired each one of them to his suite and the rest of the delegation members retired to their hotel rooms. It was the delegation's first day in Brussels, and it was Friday they were supposed to prey and rest during the afternoon from yesterday eight long hours flight from their Capital.

Zarif sat in his living room frustrated and angry. He did not dare to switch on the TV set and listen to the news or watch a movie. He knew that they were under surveillance by some unknown delegation members, and any of them could have bribed the hotel's staff to learn if he is using the phone or if he watched TV.

He felt as if he was jailed… That's what he thought with a note of self pity, right after being shut in his suite. To be in this bustling capital without being able to enjoy its centers of entertainment was almost a real annoying torture.

As Iran permanent representative to the UN, he was used to live like a bachelor and carried on a playboy life style. He used the services of call girls and visited night clubs, whenever he felt like it. He did not mind if it was known to the higher echelons at home, he did a good job and no one abroad or at home took any notice of his private life.

While now I'm under siege, he kept thinking unable to rid himself from the oppressive mood that assaulted him.

The phone was ringing on the table not far from him, and in his bedroom too. He got up from the armchair and picked up the receiver.

It was Rohanei calling him from his suite.

'Listen Mohammad I thought of paying you a visit to pray "Asr" (afternoon Muslim prayer) together.'

'You're welcome Hassan and it's an excellent idea to pray together.' Zarif answered him and felt instantly much better. He knew how shrewd Rohanei is, and that the latter wishes to talk privately with him.

As Rohanei's suite was the neighboring suite to his own one, it took Rohanei half a minute to knock on his door.

With his right hand Zarif opened and covered the lower part of his face with his left, as he was in mid yawning.

'Are you that tired should I shorten my visit?' Rohanei asked him smiling.

'I'm not tired at all Hassan I'm bored to death, and I'm thankful to you for coming. Let's sit down please.' He added politely smiling back at his close friend.

'I thought we should exploit this golden chance and have a serious conversation while we can. We'll be pretty busy this evening while we'll brief the delegation members, and we'll have to be careful Qasem must have planted two or three snoops among the delegation's members I guess…' He avoided mentioning the supreme leader, although he was sure that Qasem was obeying His Holy Highness orders.

'I guessed we won't be praying but what's on your mind Hassan?'

'I won't pray even later in the seclusion of my suite, I'm not that religious despite my early education and my turban.' Rohanei said with a short laugh. 'We've to decide how our briefing will be performed tonight, as each one of us will have to say a few words; and there're some subjects that bother us some time now, our future relations with Turkey for instance.'

'Well we'll do it as usual, I'll ask your permission and address the members about our future days, as I'll stay with my two special aides while you'll fly to Washington on Tuesday; and you'll sum up the briefing, as befits your rank and status.' He stopped his monologue abruptly and watched Rohanei with a quizzical gaze.

'Yes that's almost exactly what we'll do tonight I agree, but you'll do the talking Mohammad with my permission of course. But what do you think will be the next phase in our relations with the Turks Mohammad?'

'You mean that despite the faith difference we've strong ties with them for the time being... How long would it last? Taking into account our supreme leader and the assembly of experts' aspirations to make our faith the most influential in the Muslim world instead of the Sunni faith, I'm afraid our relations with them won't last long...'

'But they've crossed the Rubicon Mohammad, and they can't turn back.' Rohanei remarked thoughtfully. 'It depends on the success of our trip to Washington I believe. If we'll persuade the Americans to pull their warships from our territorial waters and end up successfully all the three planed steps, which would enable us to rule the entire region including Saudi Arabia and Pakistan; we shall be the leading faith in the Muslim world, and Turkey would be just one more satellite state of ours.'

'Do you believe that we'll persuade or rather frighten the Americans with our hidden threats? What if they'll laugh in our faces or simply reject our demands?' Zarif wondered without hiding his doubts from his close friend.

'We won't threaten them openly it will be the worst mistake we could do.'

'But we're instructed to threaten them Hassan, if we won't threaten the Americans as our last resort when they won't be persuaded we'd better stay abroad…'

'I said we won't threaten them openly, but we'll tell them before returning home that if they won't pull out their warships of the Gulf, Qasem's Revolutionary Guard will lose patience and attack their ships. Do I've to remind you that we're the peace seeking delegation?' He asked Zarif with a short burst of laughter. 'If we'll reach this stage, we'll board our plane and fly back home without waiting for their answer.'

'So that's the trick, this will be our insurance policy then?' Zarif remarked with a rhetoric question.

'That's right Mohammad we represent the liberal and sane part of our regime, and that's why I was chosen to serve as our country's President.' Rohanei summed the complicated problem, and described his solution with ease. 'Fetch me some mineral water Mohammad I'm thirsty.'

Zarif left his seat and went over to the small fridge and pulled out a mineral water bottle. He returned quite nimbly and poured the water into two glasses, which were already on the small table next to their armchairs.

'I was surprised by your admirer absence among the EU prominent functionaries when we just landed at the airport and at the welcome party yesterday night.' Rohanei said while they were quenching their thirst.

'Is she sick or are there some other reasons, the one that replaces her didn't say anything about it?'

'I hope she wasn't replaced because of her blatant sympathy towards us.'

'Her blatant sympathy was aimed towards you in particular Mohammad.' Rohanei remarked laughing. 'In any case I hope it doesn't indicate a change of policy…'

The suite phone ringing interrupted Rohanei in mid sentence. Zarif left his seat and went over to pick up the receiver.

'He must be sound asleep I'll wake him up Davood, do summon everyone to supper; we'll be down in about twenty minutes' time.' He answered the caller and hung up.

'It's my new subordinate that Qasem has nominated to join my office and the delegation, and he called your suite he says the sly snoop that he is.' Zarif remarked with a note of anger.

'He's a very industrious fellow despite the fact that he gets on our nerves, but I'll take him with me to Washington on Tuesday.'

'I'm very thankful to you Hassan, by the way are there any subjects we shouldn't talk about with our men. I don't think that they've a Persian translator ready at their disposal, but they may record our briefing and translate the recording later on.'

'Oh we'll talk just about the delegations general itinerary, but you'll do the briefing as there's nothing much to talk about. Yes just a few words before we'll eat about the departure of the delegation main body on Tuesday, and that you and your two aides will join us later on. That will do and let's go down Mohammad and meet our men.'

© Haim Kadman 2014 �" all rights reserved.

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