---
born: 1916-07-16
category: Iran-Contra
died: 1991-01-14
location: Birmingham, Alabama
summary: Retired CIA officer who helped restore the Shah in 1953 and later gathered
  anti-Carter CIA veterans during the Iranian hostage crisis.
tags:
- Person
- IranContra
- CIA
- Israel
- Military
---

[Miles Copeland](/people/miles-copeland/) was a well-known retired [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) officer. In December 1979, he gathered a group of [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/)-connected officers and associates who were unhappy with the [Carter](/people/jimmy-carter/) administration and the [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) leadership.[^1]

[Copeland](/people/miles-copeland/) had previously helped [Kermit Roosevelt](/people/kermit-roosevelt/) and the [Iranian](/places/iran/) military restore the [Shah](/people/mohammad-reza-pahlavi/) of [Iran](/places/iran/) to power in 1953 after he had been overthrown by [Mohammed Mossadegh](/people/mohammed-mossadegh/). He was a friend of the late [Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser](/people/gamal-abdel-nasser/) and was known for his anti-[Israel](/places/israel/) stance. [Israeli](/places/israel/) intelligence believed him responsible for [U.S.](/places/united-states/) pressure on [Israel](/places/israel/), Britain, and [France](/places/france/) to withdraw from the [Suez Canal](/places/suez-canal/) area in 1956, and for pushing [Israelis](/places/israel/) to withdraw from the Sinai.[^1]

[Copeland's](/people/miles-copeland/) group, along with the [Israeli](/places/israel/) government, sought to prevent the [Iranians](/places/iran/) from being defeated in Khuzistan if [Iraq](/places/iraq/) attacked, and to avoid a repeat of [President Carter's](/people/jimmy-carter/) blunders. A meeting between [Copeland](/people/miles-copeland/) and [Israeli](/places/israel/) intelligence officers, including [David Kimche](/people/david-kimche/), was held in [Washington, D.C.](/places/washington-dc/).[^1]

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