In the morning of the day when Edward Shevardnadze, the Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union was to deliver the reply from Gorbachev to the Imam, quite the opposite of other days when he entered his meeting room at 8 o’clock sharp, the Imam did not make his presence felt. The foreign minister of the former Soviet Union together with the Islamic Republic of Iran foreign ministry officials stood waiting in the room. Finally, the Imam entered at around 8.30 a.m. And without any interruption and reflection and without looking anybody in the face, he passed through the individuals and took his seat in his usual place. At the same time, the foreign minister of the Soviet Union sat on a chair. The top diplomat and representative of the superpower of the eastern bloc, whose dignified appearance and confident movements at big international assemblies and at the opulent palaces of powerful western states was often viewed on the news , looked different in this humble and simple room and perhaps for the first time he stood barefooted on an old and discolored carpet at an official meeting as was evident from the slight tremble of his hands while he read out the reply from Mr. Gorbachev. Right from the moment that he sat on a chair he had an unstable reaction as was evident from the state of disequilibrium of his feet—and this state continued until he had finished reading the message. Except for his shaky head and hands, the rest of his body throughout his reception was like a solid and an erect statue. The interpreter, which according to the knowledgeable would at all places translate Russian with full authority and fluency, was in this situation unable to speak without stammering (and would try to disguise his stammer by forced coughing and clearing his throat often). After the translation of the message of Gorbachev, the Imam without interruption and in the course of one minute and in three paragraphs candidly and unceremoniously expressed his regret at Mr. Gorbachev for not paying due attention to the fundamental subject of his letter. Next while the interpreter began to translate the third paragraph of the Imam’s words, the Imam arose from his seat and went to the inner room; and with a combination of awe and speed of movement, brought about such an unprecedented situation that no one was able to move from his seat let alone get an opportunity to kiss his hand or engage in conversation.