BEIRUT: Shahanshah Mohammad Reza Pahlevi of Iran today [Dec 12] declared that his country would show solidarity with the Arabs in the event of a new Middle East war. Asked in an interview with the Beirut political weekly “Al Hauwaiss” about Iran’s attitude should Arab-Israel hostilities break out again, he said: “As usual, we shall stand on the side of the Arabs.” The Shah said Israel had no other choice but to implement the United Nations resolution on Palestine or to “become involved in a new war … and this war will also be ours”. The Iranian ruler pointed out that he also advocated at the UN recognition of the [PLO] … as the only legitimate representation of the Palestinian Arabs.

[Meanwhile, as reported by our staff reporter,] Al-Syed Abdel Mabood al-Gaylani left Karachi on Wednesday [Dec 11] by air to perform his 126th holy pilgrimage to Mecca. Born in Iraq in 1823, Syed al-Gaylani has been living in the northern parts of Pakistan for 130 years. … Although he was unwilling to talk about himself, one of his local “murids” said he lived “somewhere in Swat”. “You are questioning me like a policeman”, he said when asked to tell something about events 130 years ago.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2024