Colonel [[Meir Meir]] was the chief of the External Relations Department (ERD) of the [[Israel Defense Forces]]/Military Intelligence. He interviewed [[Ari Ben-Menashe]] for a civilian position in the ERD in 1977, believing they could utilize [[Ari Ben-Menashe|Ben-Menashe's]] [[Iran|Iranian]] expertise.[^1] [[Meir Meir|Col. Meir]] was contacted by [[Ari Ben-Menashe]] during his mission to [[Nicaragua]] in 1978, when [[Ari Ben-Menashe]] was detained by [[Nicaragua|Nicaraguan]] state security. [[Meir Meir|Col. Meir]] confirmed [[Ari Ben-Menashe|Ben-Menashe's]] identity to the [[Nicaragua|Nicaraguan]] ambassador.[^1] He also sent [[Ari Ben-Menashe]] to [[Washington D.C.]] with [[David Kimche]] on the [[Mossad]] budget, as [[David Kimche|Kimche]] needed an [[Iran|Iranian]] affairs briefer for a secret operation to supply [[Iran]] with small arms and spare parts.[^1] ### Footnotes [^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992. (Hereafter, "Profits of War")