---
born: 1950-12-08
category: Iran-Contra
died: 1988-11-30
location: Israel
summary: Nir resigned from his TV job to work as a public relations adviser for Peres
  during the 1981 elections.
tags:
- Person
- IranContra
- CIA
- Israel
- Military
---

[Amiram Nir](/people/amiram-nir/) was a former [Israeli](/places/israel/) TV newsman and a counterterrorism adviser to [Shimon Peres](/people/shimon-peres/). He was originally a military officer in the tank corps and lost an eye in a training accident. He married Judy Moses, the daughter of the owner of Yediot Ahronot, a major [Israeli](/places/israel/) newspaper chain.[^1]

Nir resigned from his TV job to work as a public relations adviser for [Peres](/people/shimon-peres/) during the 1981 elections. After [Peres](/people/shimon-peres/) became prime minister in 1984, he appointed Nir as his counterterrorism adviser. Nir found documents related to [Eitan's](/organizations/rafi/) [U.S.](/places/united-states/) spy network and the [Joint Committee's](/organizations/iran-israel-joint-committee/) arms sales to [Iran](/places/iran/).[^1]

[Peres](/people/shimon-peres/) and Nir faced challenges from the [Likud Party](/organizations/likud-party/)-controlled intelligence community and the lack of financial power within the [Labor Party](/organizations/labor-party/). [Peres](/people/shimon-peres/) decided to open a competing arms channel, run by Nir, to gain control over the profitable [Iran](/places/iran/) arms sales and to undermine the existing intelligence-community channel. Nir, despite his lack of experience in intelligence or business, sought support from individuals like Al Schwimmer and [Yaacov Nimrodi](/people/yaacov-nimrodi/).[^1]

Nir met with [Robert McFarlane](/people/robert-mcfarlane/) in [Washington, D.C.](/places/washington-dc/) and threatened him with exposure if he did not cooperate with the new channel. This led to [McFarlane](/people/robert-mcfarlane/) connecting Nir with [Oliver North](/people/oliver-north/) and [John Poindexter](/people/john-poindexter/) of the [National Security Council](/organizations/national-security-council/). Nir, [North](/people/oliver-north/), and [Poindexter](/people/john-poindexter/) gained the support of [William J. Casey](/people/william-j-casey/), then head of the [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/), and [George H.W. Bush](/people/george-hw-bush/) tacitly ignored the operation.[^1]

Nir's operation, however, struggled to make significant inroads into the arms trade. In April 1986, [North](/people/oliver-north/) initiated a sting operation, the [Hashemi sting](/events/hashemi-sting/), to discredit the [original channel](/organizations/iran-israel-joint-committee/) and its members. Nir was also involved in the leaking of the [Jonathan Pollard](/people/jonathan-pollard/) story to the [FBI](/organizations/federal-bureau-of-investigation/) to further undermine the [Likud Party](/organizations/likud-party/)'s credibility.[^1]

In May 1986, [North](/people/oliver-north/), [McFarlane](/people/robert-mcfarlane/), and Nir traveled to [Tehran](/places/tehran/) disguised as Irish technicians, carrying [TOW missile](/concepts/tow-missile/)s and Hawk missile spare parts. They were detained, and the military equipment was confiscated. This incident, along with the delivery of outdated Hawk missiles with [Israeli](/places/israel/) markings, effectively killed off the [Iran](/places/iran/) end of the second channel.[^1]

[Nir](/people/amiram-nir/) also faced problems with his plans for supplying the [Contras](/organizations/contras/), as [Yitzhak Rabin](/people/yitzhak-rabin/) refused to cooperate. A mysterious $10 million contribution from the Sultan of Brunei to [North's](/people/oliver-north/) group, wired through Bruce Rappaport, was leaked by the [Joint Committee](/organizations/iran-israel-joint-committee/), further exposing the second channel.[^1]

[Nir](/people/amiram-nir/) was due to be a major witness in [North's](/people/oliver-north/) trial and knew a great deal about [Barbouti's](/people/ihsan-barbouti/) chemical operation in [Miami](/places/miami/). He was killed in a plane crash in [Mexico](/places/mexico/) in November 1988, an event that [Israeli](/places/israel/) intelligence believed was a [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) operation to prevent his testimony from embarrassing [Peres](/people/shimon-peres/), [Reagan](/people/ronald-reagan/), or [Bush](/people/george-hw-bush/).[^1]

[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992.