El Al

El Al is the national airline of Israel. It played a role in various covert operations and financial transactions detailed by Ari Ben-Menashe.

In January 1979, El Al was one of the last airlines to operate flights into Tehran before the airport closed, facilitating the departure of 48 Israeli aircrews who flew out F-14 jets from Iran.¹

In April 1980, El Al was involved in the transport of tires sold to Iran, with a payment of $14,000 made to El Al for freight and insurance. The tires were flown from Israel to Vienna via El Al, then transferred to Iran Air by Israeli embassy personnel.¹

In October 1980, El Al was used to transport Israeli personnel from Tel Aviv to Orly Airport in Paris for a top-secret meeting concerning the hostage release and arms deals. Later, electronic equipment acquired through a New York operation was usually flown by the IDF's weekly Boeing 707 flight from New York City to Tel Aviv, or by El Al cargo, before being transferred to Tehran via Argentinean charters.¹

In 1986, El Al was the target of a "black" propaganda operation orchestrated by Rafi to discredit Syria. Nezar Hindawi was tasked with planting explosives on an El Al plane, with the intention of causing a public incident. The plot was foiled by Israeli security. Hindawi's girlfriend, Ann-Marie Murphy, was unwittingly used in the plot, and an Israeli security man, disguised as a cleaner, passed her the parcel containing the explosives in the El Al departure lounge.¹

In 1988, El Al's first-class lounge at Heathrow Airport was the meeting place for Ari Ben-Menashe and David Ivry, director general of Israel's Ministry of Defense, to discuss the sale of C-130s to Iran.¹