# Iran-Contra Central figures in the Iran-Contra affair and October Surprise. | Name | Description | | --- | --- | | [[Adnan Khashoggi]] | Khashoggi's sister, Samira Khashoggi Fayed, was the mother of Dodi Fayed, who was romantically involved with Diana, Princess of Wales. | | [[Amiram Nir]] | Nir resigned from his TV job to work as a public relations adviser for Peres during the 1981 elections. | | [[Avi Pazner]] | Spokesman and national security adviser to Israeli PM Yitzhak Shamir, involved in covert operations including arms sales and Iraq-related intelligence. | | [[Carlos Cardoen]] | Cardoen later resigned and became a private contractor, securing a deal to supply all blasting equipment to the Chilean Mining Corporation. | | [[Cyrus Hashemi]] | Iranian exile involved in secret arms sales and hostage negotiations during Iran-Contra who became a U.S. Customs informant before being found dead in London under suspicious circumstances. | | [[Fawn Hall]] | Secretary to Oliver North during the Iran-Contra Affair and daughter of Robert McFarlane's secretary Wilma Hall. | | [[George Cave]] | In February 1989, Cave was spotted in Paraguay with Earl Brian, visiting Gen. | | [[Gunther Karl Russbacher]] | Wilcher was working daily for Russbacher and wanted to ask Janet Reno, the new Attorney General, to grant immunity from prosecution to Russbacher so that he might testify to the government about activities inside the CIA. | | [[Hashemi brothers]] | The Hashemi brothers were a trio of Iranian brothers living in the West who claimed to have connections in Iran with Ahmed Khomeini, the son of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. | | [[Henry Grunwald]] | Editor-in-chief of Time magazine who vetoed publication of the North-Nir story that later became known as the Iran-Contra Affair. | | [[Jamshid Hashemi]] | One of the Hashemi brothers, involved in secret arms sales to Iran and later became an informant for U.S. Customs. | | [[John Tower]] | After the Iran-Contra Affair scandal broke, Tower was appointed to head a presidential commission of inquiry into the affair. | | [[Mark Thatcher]] | In 1983, Thatcher introduced Gerald Bull to Gen. | | [[Mehdi Bazargan]] | First prime minister of revolutionary Iran under Khomeini who sought to normalize relations with the U.S. before being ousted by extremists. | | [[Menachem Schneerson]] | Large amounts of money were funneled through his institutions to Drexel Burnham, a brokerage house where Michael Milken built his junk-bond fortune. | | [[Michael Milken]] | Large amounts of money from the arms sales to Iran were funneled through American banks and held at Drexel Burnham, contributing to Milken's firm's stature and its ability to underwrite huge quantities of junk bonds. | | [[Miles Copeland]] | Retired CIA officer who helped restore the Shah in 1953 and later gathered anti-Carter CIA veterans during the Iranian hostage crisis. | | [[Mohammed Radi Abdullah]] | Colonel Mohammed Radi Abdullah was a former colonel in the Jordanian Army. | | [[Monzer Al-Kassar]] | Allegations suggest that the CIA was protecting Al-Kassar's operation because he was cooperating with efforts to free U.S. | | [[Oliver North]] | North was alleged to have received drug profits from Monzer Al-Kassar, a Syrian kingpin and arms dealer, to purchase arms for the Nicaraguan Contras. | | [[Ora Ben-Shalom]] | After the deaths of Freddie and Herut (Ari Ben-Menashe's daughter), Ora and Ari Ben-Menashe began a relationship in late 1986, eventually living together in Jerusalem. | | [[Reza Hashemi]] | Iranian arms dealer and one of the Hashemi brothers involved in secret arms sales and hostage negotiations related to Iran-Contra. | | [[Robert McFarlane]] | In May 1986, North, McFarlane, and Nir traveled to Tehran disguised as Irish technicians, carrying TOW missiles and Hawk missile spare parts. | | [[Robert Parry]] | American investigative journalist who produced Frontline documentaries on Iran-Contra and confirmed the authenticity of Ari Ben-Menashe's letters. | | [[Spencer Oliver]] | Chief counsel for the House Foreign Relations Committee involved in Iran-Contra hearings, later admitting the hearings were a cover-up. | | [[Timothy Phelps]] | Middle East correspondent for Newsday who received early details of the Iran-Contra story from Ari Ben-Menashe. | | [[Uri Simchoni]] | Brigadier General Uri Simchoni was a member of the Iran-Israel Joint Committee. | | [[Wilma Hall]] | Secretary to Robert McFarlane at the NSC and mother of Fawn Hall who helped expose McFarlane's contacts with Rafi Eitan. |