command.”
The aide hurried off to do as he was ordered—this demonstration had been arranged in advance.
Nateq-Nouri nodded to the two Imams present. “We are honored to have the representatives of the Leadership Council in our presence today. We are here to receive the report from General Buzhazi on the attacks against the Islamic Republic that occurred earlier this morning. As you all know, there were three separate incidents: an unknown air attack against Bandar Abbas; the mishaps aboard the aircraft carrier Khomeini that caused considerable damage to that vessel; and the assault on the security complex at Chah Bahar Naval Base.”
The Iranian President turned to Buzhazi. “General, we shall surely get to the matter of the Khomeini soon, and your theories about what happened to that ship and the Chinese destroyer. But I wish to query you on the attack at Chah Bahar first, since this was obviously an assault made by GCC and American forces. Your report states that our radar planes and ground radar stations detected the intruder almost two hundred kilometers from Chah Bahar, and yet not one fighter launched? How is that possible, General?”
“The intruder aircraft was flying less than three hundred twenty knots, it was a single aircraft, and it was flying on an established airway,” General Buzhazi explained. “Night intercepts are dangerous, and several fighters from Chah Bahar were on patrol searching for the attackers overlying Bandar Abbas, so no additional fighters were launched against this lone, non-threatening target. When the intruder did not answer any of our challenges, it was engaged by ground-based air at maximum range.”
“And it evaded all of them?”
“The aircraft was equipped with very sophisticated defensive equipment, including chaff dispensers and threat warning receivers,” Buzhazi noted. “The aircraft was shot down over the base …”
“After shooting up more of our armored vehicles, even after dropping five paratroopers right on our security facility!
… and we have examined the wreckage of the aircraft,” Buzhazi struggled on. “It was the personal aircraft of Sheikh Muhammad ibn Rashid all-Maktum himself, the son of the Emir of Dubai—a sentence of death should be placed on this infidel immediately. The aircraft was fully armed and was also equipped for low-altitude flight and precision navigation.
“But the main factor was the state of the air defenses around Chah Bahar. As I said in my report, sir, the Hawks placed there were some of our poorest-maintained units. I have ordered SA-10 units and more Rapier air defense units, but my requests have been constantly overridden …”
“There was no use in putting a costly SA-10 air defense site at a naval base that is still uncompleted after five years in construction and an oil pipeline terminal that is still uncompleted after ten years,” Minister of Defense Muhammad Foruzandeh interjected. “Chah Bahar is nothing but random piles of concrete buildings, mostly vacant or in partial stages of completion, surrounding an obsolete air base and a shallow-water port facility that cannot accommodate anything larger than a tugboat, let alone a major warship or a supertanker. Your budget has been increased every year for the past three years to complete that base, and yet the projected completion date is moved back every year. Where is all that money going, General? To your private offshore bank accounts, your homes in Indonesia and South America, your private jets?”
“How dare you insinuate that I have embezzled government funds!”
Buzhazi retorted. “I demand an apology!”
“Enough, enough!” Nateq-Nouri shouted. “The general will have his opportunity to answer all of these charges very soon, I guarantee it.” He got to his feet and paced behind his desk. “So then a single aircraft shoots up the base, destroys the power plant and all base communications, then drops five”—he shook his head as if scarcely believing what he was saying—”… five paratroopers into a security compound with thirty-two armed Pasdaran guards on duty, kills or wounds each and every one of them, rescues all the American prisoners, then holds off an entire infantry company of Pasdaran shock troops until they are extracted by another single American aircraft? I cannot believe this, Buzhazi. The Islamic Republic will be the world’s laughingstock by the end of the day.”
“Mr. President, we were unprepared for the arrival of those prisoners from the Khomeini,” Buzhazi said. “The security facility had a normal complement of troops for the number of inmates already present, which were all low- risk disciplinary cases. The base commander already had orders to double the guards at the facility when he learned of the transfer of the prisoners.”
“That seems to be the reason for all that has happened in the past few hours, General—you were unprepared,” Nateq-Nouri said. “You were unprepared for the assaults on Bandar Abbas or on the Khomeini carrier group, unprepared for the attack and assaults on Chah Bahar … So, you have a theory as to how all these attacks made it through your vaunted defenses, General?”
“The same as the mysterious unidentified aircraft that ‘attacked’ Bandar Abbas, sir—they were cruise missiles, decoys, launched by American stealth bombers,” Buzhazi said. He could see Nateq-Nouri, Foruzandeh, and most of the others roll their eyes in exasperation. “Yes, stealth bombers, gentlemen. The same as was reported by the MiG-29 pilot over the Gulf of Oman with the American KC-10 aerial refueling tanker. The Americans are conducting illegal, warlike reconnaissance flights over our country with stealth bombers, launching sophisticated decoy missiles over our forces that fool our air defenses into thinking we are under massive attack so we quickly expend all our weapons.”
“I see, I see,” Defense Minister Foruzandeh said scornfully, clearly unimpressed by Buzhazi’s explanation. “We are all going to blame this on shadows of steel, on bombers loaded with intelligent cruise missiles that fly with complete impunity over our radars and missile fields. General, you have said yourself that the American stealth program is a sham, a program foisted on the American people to benefit the aircraft manufacturers and to bankrupt the former Soviet Union by forcing them to spend billions on weapons to defeat them.”
“The American stealth bombers and their new generation cruise missiles are real, Minister,” Buzhazi said. “That is what I have been trying to prepare our country to defend itself against!”
“This testimony will make fascinating reading at your court-martial, General.”
“Do not threaten me, sir!” Buzhazi shouted. “if you wish to relieve me of my office—if you have the stomach to try to remove me—you may do it at any time.”
Nateq-Nouri looked as if he were ready to kill his military chief of staff with his bare hands. “But you may not threaten me with punishment for trying to do my duty!”
“It has been how you have tried to ‘do your duty’ that has bankrupted our country and forced us to the brink of war with the Americans,” Nateq-Nouri said angrily. “It will continue no more.
Dr. Velayati.”
Ali Akbar Velayati, the Foreign Minister, held up a communiqud, nestled in a blue diplomatic folder. “A message from the American Secretary of State,” Velayati said to Buzhazi and the rest of the Defense Council, “received late last night. The United States accepts in principle the Islamic Republic’s proposal to ban all land- attack warships from the Persian Gulf, including aircraft carriers, and to allow the Islamic Republic to maintain an equal number of warships in the Persian Gulf as Gulf Cooperation Council warships.”
“How dare they issue a statement like that, after wantonly attacking our air defense forces as they did last night?” Buzhazi retorted.
“Silence, General Buzhazi,” President Nateq-Nouri ordered.
“Continue, Dr. Velayati.”
“The United States wishes to schedule a summit of all interested nations for this September, where a treaty will be signed,” the Foreign Minister went on. “Secretary of State Hartman further recommends that this proposal be extended to the boundaries of the Gulf of Oman and the Gulf of Aden west of the sixtieth meridian …”
“What?” Buzhazi retorted. “The sixtieth meridian? That is … that is just west of Chah Bahar Sir, do you realize that is almost the entire coastline of Iran!”
“And that is the entire coastline of all of the Gulf Cooperation Council states,” Nateq-Nouri said. “We shall have an equal number of warships as all of our adversaries in the oil-transit areas, but we will be free to sail expeditionary warships from Chah Bahar Naval Base if we so choose—but they will not be allowed to enter the Gulf of Oman, the Gulf of Aden, the Strait, or the Persian Gulf if they exceed the number of warships of GCC states.”
“This is utterly insane!” Buzhazi shouted. “You cannot do this!”
“Pending successful treaty negotiations between now and September, ratification by the Majlis, approval by the Council of Guardians, and the blessing of the Faqih,” Nateq-Nouri said, “we will sign such an agreement. We
