There was complete silence. All eyes turned to the president. He seemed deep in prayer: his eyes were closed, his hands were clasped and he was murmuring softly to himself. At last he opened his eyes and spoke.

‘It is clear to me that this is Allah’s gift to the Iranian people. He has shown us the path forward and it would be blasphemy to ignore his message. No more will our enemies be able to threaten embargoes on our petroleum or the destruction of our oil fields. When we have an energy source that does not need to be sucked from the ground, that we can pluck from the very stars themselves, that has been given to us by Allah, blessed be his name, then we can lead the entire Muslim world to a new age of superiority. We will be able to stop our oil production and watch the West return to chaos when the source of the black blood that their machines gorge themselves upon is suddenly turned off.’

Then the president’s brow furrowed as if he had just had an unpleasant thought. He reached out to Chief Commander Bhakazarri and took hold of his upper arm. ‘They will come – either the pigs of Zion or the Americans. If enough of the radiation escaped, they will have seen it.’

Bhakazarri made a fist and brought it slowly down on the table in a subconscious act of crushing his enemies. ‘You are right. Either by air or by stealth, they will come. We must be ready.’

‘And what of Persepolis – what remains of the facility?’ The president turned from Bhakazarri back to the scientist, his eyes narrowing in contemplation.

‘Nothing, my President. Nothing except the tunnels leading to the complex. There was no heat, no noise and no ground tremors – the facility was either totally absorbed . . . or sent somewhere else.’

The president nodded slowly. ‘Truly a gift – Allah and all the prophets be praised.’ He turned to Bhakazarri, his eyes now alight with the fire of excitement. ‘We must be ready – with words and a plan, and some steel as well, my friend. We will tell the bureaucrats at the United Nations that we wish to discuss closing down the Natanz facilities, with their assistance, in return for their lifting of all sanctions. They already know about the Natanz operation, and that will keep them satisfied. It will also be enough to keep the Americans in check, at least diplomatically.’

He spoke to Al Janaddi again. ‘Professor, you are authorised to bring the Jamshid II facility up to full production capability immediately. You are personally responsible for the success of this project.’

The president closed his eyes and leaned his head back, as though listening to some distant voice. ‘We need to keep the unbelievers away from Jamshid II at all costs. They may know about the Persepolis site, but there is nothing there for them now. Perhaps we should have a reception waiting for them nevertheless. To draw them out, sap their strength.’