The personal message of American President Carter to the Imam requesting that the American hostages be freed was relayed to the Imam through former Foreign Minister Qutb-Zadeh on Friday whereas Mr. Qutb-Zadeh had received it from the Swiss Charge d'affaire on Wednesday. The following day or on that same day they had sent a second message to Bani S?adr. However, the message given to the Imam did not contain the harsh words that was contained in Bani S?adr's message and was more lenient.
When the Imam read the message he stated: "This must be published because we do not hide anything from the nation and secondly, it is possible that they have published it themselves so that they think something and the people also get the wrong impression that things are being hidden from them. We must tell the people all that is taking place and the people must decide for themselves." For this reason he sated: "Publish the message immediately so that it is broadcast on the same day over the radio network."[1]
[1] Nothing must be kept away from the nation: Sayyid Ahmad Khomeini