The diaries of the Shah's court minister and confidant, Asadollah Alam, turned out to be a time bomb for the reputation of the royal family and Iranian high society. Alam meticulously recorded the comings and goings of the palace, as well as his private conversations with the Shah and other dignitaries. No one knew about his diaries, jealously guarded in a safe after his death in 1978. It was not until long after Iran's Islamic revolution that they became known.

Among the thousands of anecdotes contained in the diaries (translated and edited in English a few years ago by his friend Alinaghi Alikhani) we find the reproduction of a letter that the then King Juan Carlos sent to the Shah from Zarzuela in June 1977. Addressing the Iranian monarch as "brother", King Juan Carlos affirms that Franco's dictatorship had done many good things for Spain. However, he warns him of the strength of the PSOE, a party he defines as "Marxist" and which he sees as a risk to the "security" of Spain. The king laments that the right wing has the support of the Spanish banks while the socialists have the financial support of Venezuela and other countries, which leaves his candidate, Alfonso Suarez, without sufficient resources to face them.

Therefore, in order to preserve the monarchy in Spain and the western civilization, the then king asks the Shah for economic financial aid . "On behalf" of Suarez, he takes the liberty of apply for to the Shah ten million dollars to finance Suarez's electoral campaign in the municipal elections, something that will help to "strengthen the Spanish monarchy". He informs the Shah that, in case he agrees to his request, he will send his trusted man and friend, Alexis Mardas, to Teheran to manage the money.

In an attempt to diversify the sources of income for the UCD, while the King sent the letter, he also hurried to coordinate Suarez's visit to Saudi Arabia, where, accompanied by another man of the King's confidence, he would request another loan from the Saud monarchy to finance the electoral campaign.

It was not the first time that some European or American leader went to the Iranian monarchy or audited to obtain an extra income source . Alam's diaries also report the visit of some of Nixon's delegates in the run-up to the presidential elections. But, unlike Juan Carlos, these requests were usually made orally, discreetly and implicitly. What amazed and frightened the Shah was Juan Carlos' coarse manner: his way of asking directly, bluntly, and in writing. More cautious, the Shah replied to his letter without alluding to topic, as he preferred not to put it on record and to deal with it face to face with Juan Carlos' envoy.

The Iranian court surely excused Juan Carlos' audacity. After all, he was still a novice in these matters and had only been at position for a few years. What is surprising is that after decades on the throne, the Bourbons have continued to pursue these matters with the same candor and lack of self-confidence. Since the transition to the present day, little has changed. We Spaniards continue to remain on the sidelines of all palace intrigues.