---
category: Authors & Journalists
summary: After the Iranian Revolution, Samghabadi was arrested by the Mullahs, accused
  of being a CIA spy and a Tudeh Party member.
tags:
- Person
- Journalist
---

[Raji Samghabadi](/people/raji-samghabadi/) was an Iranian-born journalist who worked as a Middle East correspondent for *Time* magazine. He was initially hired as a stringer for *Time* by Bruce van Voorst, who had been a [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) officer. Prior to this, in the early 1970s, Samghabadi worked for *Keyhan International*, an English-language daily newspaper in [Tehran](/places/tehran/), and was secretly a member of the pro-Soviet Tudeh Party.[^1]

After the [Iranian Revolution](/events/iranian-revolution/), Samghabadi was arrested by the Mullahs, accused of being a [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) spy and a Tudeh Party member. He was later released and sought political asylum in the [U.S.](/places/united-states/), eventually becoming an [American](/places/united-states/) citizen and a Middle East correspondent for *Time*.[^1]

In May 1986, [Ari Ben-Menashe](/people/ari-ben-menashe/) provided [Samghabadi](/people/raji-samghabadi/) with detailed information about the [North](/people/oliver-north/)-[Nir](/people/amiram-nir/) operation, which became known as the [Iran-Contra Affair](/events/iran-contra-affair/). Samghabadi considered it a major scoop, but *Time* magazine ultimately refused to print the story, a decision attributed to the editor-in-chief, [Henry Grunwald](/people/henry-grunwald/).[^1]

[Samghabadi](/people/raji-samghabadi/) was later a witness for [Ari Ben-Menashe](/people/ari-ben-menashe/) in his trial for arms dealing. Despite suffering from frayed nerves, he testified, confirming that [Ben-Menashe](/people/ari-ben-menashe/) had informed him about the [Iran-Contra Affair](/events/iran-contra-affair/) prior to its public exposure. He also made a memorable, if excitable, statement during his testimony, highlighting the human cost of the conflict.[^1]

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