---
category: Intelligence & Government
summary: Iranian Jewish arms dealer recruited by Mossad who coordinated the October
  1980 Washington meeting on hostage release negotiations.
tags:
- Person
- CIA
- ArmsDealer
- Israel
---

[Hushang Lavi](/people/hushang-lavi/) was an [Iranian](/places/iran/) Jew living in the [U.S.](/places/united-states/). He was a known arms dealer and worked for [Israeli](/places/israel/) intelligence. He left [Iran](/places/iran/) under the [Shah](/people/mohammad-reza-pahlavi/) to live in the [United States](/places/united-states/). From the [U.S.](/places/united-states/), he frequently visited [Israel](/places/israel/) and was recruited by [Mossad](/organizations/mossad/) in the late 1970s as an intelligence asset to further [Israel's](/places/israel/) arms-sales policies.[^1]

[Lavi](/people/hushang-lavi/) coordinated the details of the October 1980 Washington meeting between [American](/places/united-states/) and [Iranian](/places/iran/) officials, where Ahmed Omshei outlined the [Israeli](/places/israel/) plan for hostage release. His work for the [Israeli](/places/israel/) government ended in 1983 because he refused to heed warnings about his unauthorized moonlighting in arms with the [Hashemi brothers](/people/hashemi-brothers/), among others.[^1]

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