The [[Iran-Contra Affair]] was a political scandal in the [[United States]] that came to light between 1985 and 1987. This complex event involved the secret sale of arms to [[Iran]] by the [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] administration. In exchange for these arms, American hostages held in [[Lebanon]] were to be released. The profits generated from these clandestine arms sales were then illegally diverted to fund the [[Contras]], a right-wing rebel group operating in [[Nicaragua]], circumventing a congressional ban on such aid.[^1] Several key figures were implicated in the affair. [[Oliver North]], a Lieutenant Colonel in the [[United States Marine Corps]], emerged as a central figure. He was alleged to have received drug profits from [[Monzer Al-Kassar]], a Syrian kingpin and arms dealer, which were then used to purchase arms for the [[Contras]]. The [[United States]] Tower Commission probe into Iran-gate specifically revealed that Al-Kassar had been paid $1.2 million by North's co-conspirator, General [[Richard Secord]], to facilitate the movement of weapons from [[Israel]] to the [[Contras]].[^1] [[Adnan Khashoggi]], an international arms merchant, and [[Manucher Ghorbanifar]], an Iranian arms dealer, served as crucial middlemen in the arms-for-hostages exchange. Khashoggi was found to have borrowed money for these arms purchases from the now-bankrupt [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International|BCCI]], with financial backing from Saudi and U.S. sources. [[Ari Ben-Menashe]], a self-proclaimed Israeli military intelligence officer, played a role in exposing the scandal by tipping off an obscure Lebanese magazine. Furthermore, [[Barbara Honegger]], a former [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] [[White House]] aide, alleged in her book *October Surprise* that [[Monzer Al-Kassar]]'s heroin smuggling network in [[Italy]] was utilized to launder [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization|NATO]] arms stocks, diverting them to [[Iran]] with the assistance of corrupt Italian intelligence officials linked to the secretive fascist Masonic lodge, P2.[^1] The [[Iran-Contra Affair]] was a significant component of [[Danny Casolaro]]'s broader "[[The Octopus]]" investigation. Casolaro believed that this scandal was deeply interconnected with the [[PROMIS Software Scandal]] and the [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International|BCCI]] scandal. He obtained documents related to Iran-Contra arms deals, including photocopies of checks drawn on [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International|BCCI]] accounts for [[Adnan Khashoggi]] and [[Manucher Ghorbanifar]], from his confidante [[Bob Bickel]]. Bickel, in turn, had acquired these documents from [[October Surprise]] source [[Richard Brenneke]]. The name of [[Ian Stuart Spiro]] also appeared in [[Oliver North]]'s personal notebooks documenting the [[Iran-Contra Affair]], and Spiro's death was subsequently linked to a spy network and the affair itself.[^1] --- ## Footnotes [^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.