The airborne and ground based TV crews filmed the landing of the Iranian plane and it was aired live. The plane taxied to the anxiously awaiting reception committee but the fuselage door remained closed for a long moment even after it had come to a full stop. David understood that the Iranian pilot was waiting for permission from Tehran and acknowledgement that the Hezbollah prisoners and bodies were freed and were crossing into Lebanon. He wasn't sure what would happen when the Iranians would discover that the flight had been diverted away from Ben-Gurion airport and he thought of giving the soldiers the signal to shoot out the front tires of the plane. Finally the door opened and the staircase was released by one of the stewards. The first to appear at the doorway was Johnny the Member of Knesset and the rest of the hostages followed him. They were really surprised to see such a small reception party but they were told that the flight had to be diverted from Ben-Gurion airport. The hostages were taken to the two civil aviation planes that were waiting and the planes took off immediately on their way to the official reception at Ben Gurion airport.
David made sure that the electromagnetic signals were jammed and then approached the open door, accompanied by three of the Israeli soldiers and his colleague from the IAEC. He formally asked the pilot for permission to come aboard. The pilot approved his request and asked whether his plane could be refueled. David said that as soon as he completed a search of the plane's hold a tanker would come by and refuel the plane. The pilot just indicated that it was OK with him. David boarded the plane and went straight to the large trunk. He asked the pilot to open it and both were surprised when the key didn't work. David called one of the soldiers and told him to force the lock. The soldier took out his commando knife and removed the hinges of trunk without touching the lock. Very carefully, lifting the lid just a fraction, David peered inside and an uncontrolled cry escaped his lips "Watch out, there is a bomb in here".
David's colleague pulled out a radiation detector and placed it near the trunk. They all heard it clicking, indicating that radioactive material was present. The pilot said "Now I understand what that weird scientist was doing in Tehran and why he locked the trunk and gave me this useless key."
David said "What are you talking about?" and the pilot told him all about Dr. Fathi and the time he spent alone with the trunk. David immediately instructed everyone to get as far away from the plane as possible warning them that the plane may be booby trapped. He thought that it was a necessary precaution if conventional explosives went off but knew that it would be quite futile in case of a nuclear detonation. Before he could repeat this warning everyone had scattered away and there no one else in sight.
David carefully further lifted the trunk's lid and saw pieces of some kind of a mechanical device strewn on the bottom of the trunk. Apparently the rough landing had broken it, or perhaps it was fragile from the beginning. The IAEC man pointed at a small antenna and said that it was probably some part of a remotely operated switch. David took a close look and saw that it was connected to a small box from which two electric wires led to a larger box. There many very fine wires that came out of this second box and it didn't take a genius to figure that they led to an array of detonators. David gingerly opened the small box and removed the two AA batteries that powered the receiver ensuring that the bomb couldn't be triggered by a radio signal. He looked at his colleague and saw that he was perspiring profusely and his eyes were tightly shut. He smiled "If you can hear me you are still alive. OK from here on we'll get the bomb-squad experts to dismantle this device". He exited the plane and called everybody back.
He called the Iranian pilot and showed him the dismantled device. He then addressed the entire crew "You were used by ruthless people who sent you to your death. Fortunately, you were all saved by some divine intervention. We know that you were sacrificial goats just like those innocent animals that don't know what awaits them. I strongly recommend that you don't return to Iran because you'll certainly be accused of sabotage. You will now be the guests of the Israeli government and will soon be sent to any destination of your choice. We don't take innocent hostages."
The jamming device was switched off and David made a few phone calls.
Imam Mourtashef and General Aslawi were watching the live TV broadcast in the Senior Assistant's office. They couldn't believe their eyes. On one part of the screen they watched the Hezbollah people crossing the border into Lebanon and on the other part they saw flight IRG 101 landing on a desert strip in the middle of nowhere. The Imam turned up the volume and heard the reporter say that the flight was diverted there due to an accident on the main runway of Ben Gurion airport. He checked the map and saw that that airfield, Ovda base, was more than 400 km from the south of Lebanon and realized that it was out of range of the transmitter that was supposed to send the triggering signal. He kept watching expecting the mechanical trigger to function 15 minutes after the door of the plane was opened. He looked at his watch and waited. After 30 minutes he realized that the nuclear explosion was not going to happen. He looked at his two colleagues and sadly said "I think we have reached the end of the road". They nodded but did not say a word.
The press conference was held in the largest available room at Terminal 3 of Ben Gurion airport. Despite the late hour it was standing room only. The Prime Minister's press secretary said "Thank you all for coming to this very special event. Israel has many reasons to celebrate today, so we have a busy schedule here. First, the released hostages will be officially welcomed in a small ceremony with the entire government of Israel. Then one of them will tell us all about their plight in the infamous Evin Prison in Tehran. After that the Prime Minister himself will deliver a special statement to the people of Israel and then will take some questions from the press. So at this time I wish to invite all the released hostages that were freed today to come to the podium. First I call upon Zorik Shemesh and Inbal Sabatani who were captured in Srinagar". The young couple stepped forth holding hands to the applause of the audience. The press secretary continued "Please wait with your applause until I have presented all the hostages. Please welcome Shulamit and Nate Levy and they are from Haifa and were captured in Tbilisi, Georgia. Then look at these two young men, Ari and Avi, who were kidnapped brutally while on vacation in Thailand. These are Yanna and Eyal who were enjoying the sands of Dahab, in Sinai and found themselves in prison in Tehran. Finally, here's the man who needs no introduction, Yonathan Shmaryahu our MK whose disappearance was a major event. You all know him as Johnny and he is accompanied by his bodyguard, Oded. Here's Johnny!" he announced but was booed by the more sophisticated members of the media for his tasteless antics.
Zorik stepped to the podium "I was requested by my fellow hostages to tell you a little about our time in prison. Although we were captured in different countries, by different people, we all ended in the same cell, as well as Vicki and Morris Aladgem who were released earlier. We were treated quite well by our captors. They didn't torture us or try to extract classified information from us. It quickly became apparent that they were holding us as bargaining chips for some reason. Evin Prison is a formidable place where for decades whoever was in power in Iran used it to lock up real or imaginary enemies and members of the opposition. We knew that we would not be rescued by some military operation — it was impossible to do so in the heart of Tehran, but we also knew that our government would do whatever it could to free us". The loud applause continued for several minutes until the hostages were beginning to get embarrassed. Zorik added "Thank you, but real thanks are due to our government".