---
born: 1929-11-21
category: Intelligence & Government
location: Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine
summary: Acting and later full Director of Mossad who served on the Iran-Israel Joint
  Committee for supplying arms to Iran during the Iran-Iraq War.
tags:
- Person
- CIA
- Politician
- Israel
- Military
---

[Nachum Admoni](/people/nachum-admoni/) was the acting Director of [Mossad](/organizations/mossad/) and later its full Director. He was the first [Mossad](/organizations/mossad/) chief to be appointed from the bureaucracy rather than the military. He was appointed after [Yekutiel Adam](/people/yekutiel-adam/), who was in line for the position, was assassinated.[^1]

[Admoni](/people/nachum-admoni/) was involved in the [Iran-Israel Joint Committee](/organizations/iran-israel-joint-committee/), which was assigned the task of supplying [Iran](/places/iran/) with arms in its war with [Saddam Hussein's](/people/saddam-hussein/) [Iraq](/places/iraq/). He had equal power with the Director of [Mossad](/organizations/mossad/) on the subject of arms to [Iran](/places/iran/).[^1]

[Admoni](/people/nachum-admoni/) was briefed by [Ari Ben-Menashe](/people/ari-ben-menashe/) on the [Israeli](/places/israel/) intelligence network's arms sales to [Iran](/places/iran/) for [Vice President George Bush](/people/george-hw-bush/) in July 1986. He also received a phone call from [Robert Gates](/people/robert-gates/) in early February 1989, expressing [U.S.](/places/united-states/) unhappiness about [Israeli](/places/israel/) activities in [Chile](/places/chile/).[^1]

[Admoni](/people/nachum-admoni/) was involved in the decision to move [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) money, which was under [Israeli](/places/israel/) control, to the East Bloc in 1989. He was one of the three signatories to the slush-fund accounts, along with [Ari Ben-Menashe](/people/ari-ben-menashe/).[^1]

[Admoni](/people/nachum-admoni/) left [Mossad](/organizations/mossad/) in 1989, but continued to advise [Yitzhak Shamir](/people/yitzhak-shamir/) on intelligence matters. He later became the chair of a public utility in [Israel](/places/israel/).[^1]

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