---
category: Other
summary: Colonel Meir Meir was the chief of the External Relations Department (ERD)
  of the Israel Defense Forces/Military Intelligence.
tags:
- Person
---

Colonel [Meir Meir](/people/meir-meir/) was the chief of the External Relations Department (ERD) of the [Israel](/places/israel/)/Military Intelligence. He interviewed [Ari Ben-Menashe](/people/ari-ben-menashe/) for a civilian position in the ERD in 1977, believing they could utilize [Ben-Menashe's](/people/ari-ben-menashe/) [Iranian](/places/iran/) expertise.[^1]

[Col. Meir](/people/meir-meir/) was contacted by [Ari Ben-Menashe](/people/ari-ben-menashe/) during his mission to [Nicaragua](/places/nicaragua/) in 1978, when [Ari Ben-Menashe](/people/ari-ben-menashe/) was detained by [Nicaraguan](/places/nicaragua/) state security. [Col. Meir](/people/meir-meir/) confirmed [Ben-Menashe's](/people/ari-ben-menashe/) identity to the [Nicaraguan](/places/nicaragua/) ambassador.[^1]

He also sent [Ari Ben-Menashe](/people/ari-ben-menashe/) to [Washington, D.C.](/places/washington-dc/) with [David Kimche](/people/david-kimche/) on the [Mossad](/organizations/mossad/) budget, as [Kimche](/people/david-kimche/) needed an [Iranian](/places/iran/) affairs briefer for a secret operation to supply [Iran](/places/iran/) with small arms and spare parts.[^1]

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