It was stated therein that the wages of the driver were not paid and he has been sacked without proper procedure!?

The content of the letter made me upset, since I was the one who looked after the accounts of the Embassy, though according to the by-laws of the Imperial Foreign Ministry, the diplomatic cadres were not permitted to look after the accounts. Since we did not have anybody else, I had to do the job, with or without approval of the Foreign Ministry.

In the absence of the Ambassador and as the Chargé d'Affaires I had the authority to reply to the letter.  I wrote a nasty letter to the Shah's Private Office, explaining that the driver was a drunkard, scoundrel and liar. Therefore the Ambassador who had employed him has to terminate the service of the driver. And I as the person responsible for the accounts saw to it that the driver got all his dues according to the labour laws of the land. Moreover the embassy had bought a return air ticket for him! The photocopy of all the documents signed by him, proving his claims were false, were also attached.

Then I added, how it was that his Imperial Majesty's Private Office could send such an unfounded unjustified unbecoming letter to the Ambassador who is the Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the private office's boss in this country, without the permission of His Imperial Majesty!? If the Ambassador with all that title is not permitted to terminate the service of his own Belgian driver, then how could he go on with his Extra Ordinary Plenipotentiary duties in this country?

Having signed and sealed the letter, I sent it to Tehran by the first diplomatic pouch. The Iranian Lady who was the embassy’s Persian typist was aghast to when she typed it. She even tried to warn me of the repercussions of sending a such letter to the Shah's Special Private Office.

I kept a copy of each letter in my office. Usually when the Ambassador came back, I used to brief him of the affairs of the Embassy during his absence. The ambassador trusted me so much that he just used to throw a glance of the papers and the telegrams. At the end I told him but there is one more affair that needs his attention. Then I gave him the folder with the letters. Reading the incoming letter, the Ambassador's face became multi-colour going from red to purple. I snapped, “Sir, do not worry, please read the reply I sent”. He was astounded asking in surprise: "did you reply"? I said of course since as you see the letter is not addressed to you, it is addressed to the Embassy and as the Charge I had all the authority to reply.

Then the Ambassador read my reply, again his face coloured. At the end, he said how could you write such a harsh letter to the Imperial Office? I replied, simply owing to the fact that I am not the Ambassador!?

Ahmad Eghbal stood up and came to me, he  hugged and kissed me on the cheeks Iranian style. He said, “Hashem I whished that I was in your shoes for just a second”!? and we both laughed.

Needless to say that not a word was received from the Private Office concerning this ugly episode. I do not remember who headed it at the time. Whoever it was, he realized that he had overstepped his authority and committed a blunder, with no choice but to ignore my reply and sweep it under the rug!?

Here I have to add that Ahmad Eghbal was an honest, considerate, true gentleman. He had picked me as second in command to the Embassy. He was always supportive or me in spite of strong opposition from his wife. She was against me right from our first meeting. She was a shrewd pompous French dame, who right from the beginning figured out that I was the one who was going to run the show and not her husband.  I came to know that she had gone so far as to press her husband to change me, but Ahmad had refused and had told her that she was the one who had to adapt herself with the situation! I had quite a few ups and downs with the Ambassador’s wife, but since it is more personal, I am not willing to go into it.

I admire Ahmad Eghbal for a simple reason. Our assignment in Oslo terminated almost at the same time. Both went back home. He became Parliamentary Undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry and he was asked by the Minister to head the Press and Information Department. I used to pay regular visit to Ahmad in his office and chat about the good old days in Oslo. One day all of a sudden he said, “Hashem, I am sorry to tell you that I can not do anything for you”!?  meaning that I should have become an Ambassador.  I repliedl "first of all I never had the intention to ask you for anything, secondly I am very much aware of your limitations but I wholeheartedly thank you for your sincerity. I do not know anybody being in your position would ever come out with such a sincere and blunt statement. I deeply admire you, for what you just said. Thank you very much".