Cyrus Hashemi ( fa, سیروس هاشمی; also spelled ''Hashimi''; 27 December 1938 – 21 July 1986
) was an Iranian arms dealer linked to the
Iran-Contra affair,
Brokers of Death arms case, and
October Surprise conspiracy theory
The October Surprise conspiracy theory refers to an alleged plot to influence the outcome of the 1980 United States presidential election, contested between Democratic incumbent president Jimmy Carter and his Republican opponent, former Californ ...
.
Robert Dreyfuss
Robert "Bob" Dreyfuss is an American investigative journalist and contributing editor for ''The Nation'' magazine. His work has appeared in ''Rolling Stone'', ''The Diplomat'', '' Mother Jones'', ''The American Prospect'', TomPaine.com, and other ...
claimed Hashemi was a CIA and
Mossad agent; Hashemi sued Dreyfuss and
Lyndon LaRouche
Lyndon Hermyle LaRouche Jr. (September 8, 1922 – February 12, 2019) was an American political activist who founded the LaRouche movement and its main organization the National Caucus of Labor Committees (NCLC). He was a prominent conspira ...
, whose ''
Executive Intelligence Review
''Executive Intelligence Review'' (''EIR'') is a weekly newsmagazine founded in 1974 by the American political activist Lyndon LaRouche. Based in Leesburg, Virginia, it maintains offices in a number of countries, according to its masthead, incl ...
'' had accused Hashemi of being linked to the alleged "funding of Iranian terrorism in the United States," with the case dismissed in June 1983 due to Hashemi's failure to respond to legal documents. Hashemi died from
acute myeloblastic leukemia
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells, characterized by the rapid growth of abnormal cells that build up in the bone marrow and blood and interfere with normal blood cell production. Symptoms may include ...
July 1986 in London.
Background
Hashemi and his brother
Jamshid Hashemi were persecuted by the Shah's
SAVAK during the 1963
White Revolution
The White Revolution ( fa, انقلاب سفید ''Enqelāb-e Sefid'') or the Shah and People Revolution ( fa, انقلاب شاه و مردم ''Enqelāb-e Shāh o Mardom'') was a far-reaching series of reforms resulting in aggressive moderniz ...
, and left Iran as a result. The Hashemis had connections with
Ahmed Madani, who was exiled in 1970 and went on to become Defense Minister after the 1979 Revolution.
The Hashemis supported the 1979
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...
, and Jamshid was appointed to oversee the national radio network, where he worked with
Mehdi Karroubi
Mehdi Karroubi ( fa, مهدی کروبی, Mehdi Karrubi, born 26 September 1937) is an Iranian Shia cleric and reformist politician leading the National Trust Party. Following 2009–2010 Iranian election protests, Karroubi was put under house a ...
's brother Hassan. Hashemi said he was a cousin to
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani ( fa, اکبر هاشمی رفسنجانی, Akbar Hāshemī Rafsanjānī, born Akbar Hashemi Bahramani, 25 August 1934 – 8 January 2017) was an Iranian politician, writer, and one of the founding fathers of the Islami ...
, an aide of the
Ayatollah Khomeini who was elected Speaker of the Iranian Parliament in 1980.
[''Los Angeles Times'', 13 June 1987]
Panels Probing Mysterious Death of Iran Affair Figure
/ref>
Iran hostage crisis
From November 1980 to January 1981 wiretaps were placed in the New York offices of the First Gulf Bank and Trust Company, of which Hashemi was the head. The bank had handled clandestine money transfers for the Iranian government, with Admiral Ahmad Madani, then the Defense Minister, ordering $30–$35m transferred to an account there in late 1979.
A 1992 Senate investigation concluded that Hashemi was involved in a 1980 CIA attempt to funnel $500,000 to the campaign of Iranian presidential candidate Ahmad Madani, ahead of the 1980 Iranian presidential election
Presidential elections were held for the first time in Iran on 25 January 1980, one year after the Iranian Revolution when the Council of the Islamic Revolution was in power. Abolhassan Banisadr was elected president with 76% of the vote.
Candi ...
. Charles Cogan met with Hashemi and his brother Jamshid in New York on 5 January, and in the context of the Iran hostage crisis
On November 4, 1979, 52 United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over ...
the Hashemis "promised to put U.S. officials in touch with top officials in the Tehran government, including a family member of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini", but asked for financial support for Madani. The CIA provided $500,000 in cash on 17 January, which was rejected in favour of a wire transfer via Switzerland. Hashemi later returned $290,000 to Cogan, via the office of John Stanley Pottinger, after Cogan had determined that less than $100,000 had been spent for its intended purpose. Madani later testified to the House October Surprise Task Force
The House October Surprise Task Force (formally ''Task Force of the Committee on Foreign Affairs to Investigate Certain Allegations Concerning the Holding of Americans as Hostages by Iran in 1980'') was a task force instituted by the United States ...
that he had told off Hashemi for attempting to collaborate with the Republicans behind Carter's back; he said Hashemi had offered to bring Casey to a meeting to discuss a hostage deal.
Mid-1980s
According to the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'', by the mid-1980s Hashemi, although maintaining an appearance of wealth (such as commuting to his London office in a gold-trimmed Rolls-Royce) was facing bankruptcy, in part due to major gambling losses sustained in London casinos.
In mid-1985 Hashemi was partnered with Adnan Khashoggi
Adnan Khashoggi ( ar, عدنان خاشقجي, ‘Adnān Khāshuqjī; 25 July 1935 – 6 June 2017) was a Saudi businessman and arms dealer known for his lavish business deals and lifestyle. He was estimated to have had a peak net worth of ...
in "World Trade Group", "a joint venture ... that was seeking to trade farm equipment, oil and military weapons with Iran." Roy Furmark was also involved.[James Traub, '' New York'', 8 February 1987]
The Katzenjammer Falcon
/ref>
In June 1985 Hashemi approached William Casey with a new arms-for-hostages plan.[ The ''Los Angeles Times'' reported in 1988 that "according to newly declassified CIA and State Department memos, Hashemi approached then-CIA Director William J. Casey with an arms-for-hostages plan of his own that was strikingly similar to the one that would soon be embraced by the White House as its secret Iran arms initiative."][''Los Angeles Times'', 4 August 1988]
Iran Arms Dealers May Use Secret CIA Links as Defense
/ref> A June 1985 CIA memo documented a call regarding a potential arms-for-hostages deal from Hashemi to Shaheen. The ''Times'' said in 1988 it had discovered that Hashemi was meeting with Adnan Khashoggi
Adnan Khashoggi ( ar, عدنان خاشقجي, ‘Adnān Khāshuqjī; 25 July 1935 – 6 June 2017) was a Saudi businessman and arms dealer known for his lavish business deals and lifestyle. He was estimated to have had a peak net worth of ...
and Manucher Ghorbanifar
Manucher Ghorbanifar ( fa, منوچهر قربانیفر; nicknamed Gorba, born May 9, 1945) is an expatriate Iranian arms dealer and former SAVAK agent.
According to the ''Washington Report on Middle East Affairs'', Ghorbanifar was a double a ...
, and that Hashemi's efforts to arrange a deal collapsed in August 1985 due to Kashoggi's competing efforts to arrange US access to Ghorbanifar via Robert McFarlane
Robert Carl "Bud" McFarlane (July 12, 1937 – May 12, 2022) was an American Marine Corps officer who served as National Security Advisor to President Ronald Reagan from 1983 to 1985. Within the Reagan administration, McFarlane was a leading ar ...
.[
]
Brokers of Death arms case
In 1986 Hashemi acted as a government informant in a four-month sting operation for the US Customs Service, resulting in the Brokers of Death arms case, which the ''Los Angeles Times'' described in 1988 as "the largest arms conspiracy prosecution ever brought by the Justice Department".[ Hashemi had agreed to act as an informant in exchange for the dropping of arms smuggling charges against him.][
Cyrus Hashemi died suddenly on 21 July 1986 after becoming ill with a rare and "virulent" form of leukemia diagnosed only two days earlier.
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hashemi, Cyrus
1938 births
1986 deaths
Arms traders
20th-century Iranian businesspeople
Deaths from leukemia
Iran–Contra affair
Iran hostage crisis