Cyrus Hashemi

Hashemi and his brother Jamshid Hashemi were persecuted by the Shah's SAVAK during the 1963 White Revolution, and left Iran as a result. The Hashemis had connections with Ahmed Madani, who was exiled in 1970 and went on to become Defense Minister after the 1979 Revolution.[8]

The Hashemis supported the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and Jamshid was appointed to oversee the national radio network, where he worked with Mehdi Karroubi's brother Hassan. Hashemi said he was a cousin to Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, an aide of the Ayatollah Khomeini who was elected Speaker of the Iranian Parliament in 1980.[9]

From November 1980 to January 1981 wiretaps were placed in the New York offices of the First Gulf Bank and Trust Company, of which Hashemi was the head.[10] The bank had handled clandestine money transfers for the Iranian government, with Admiral Ahmad Madani, then the Defense Minister, ordering $30–$35m transferred to an account there in late 1979.

A 1992 Senate investigation concluded that Hashemi was involved in a 1980 CIA attempt to funnel $500,000 to the campaign of Iranian presidential candidate Ahmad Madani, ahead of the 1980 Iranian presidential election. Charles Cogan met with Hashemi and his brother Jamshid in New York on 5 January, and in the context of the Iran hostage crisis the Hashemis "promised to put U.S. officials in touch with top officials in the Tehran government, including a family member of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini", but asked for financial support for Madani. The CIA provided $500,000 in cash on 17 January, which was rejected in favour of a wire transfer via Switzerland. Hashemi later returned $290,000 to Cogan, via the office of John Stanley Pottinger, after Cogan had determined that less than $100,000 had been spent for its intended purpose.[11] Madani later testified to the House October Surprise Task Force that he had told off Hashemi for attempting to collaborate with the Republicans behind Carter's back; he said Hashemi had offered to bring Casey to a meeting to discuss a hostage deal.

According to the Los Angeles Times, by the mid-1980s Hashemi, although maintaining an appearance of wealth (such as commuting to his London office in a gold-trimmed Rolls-Royce) was facing bankruptcy, in part due to major gambling losses sustained in London casinos.[12]

In mid-1985 Hashemi was partnered with Adnan Khashoggi in "World Trade Group", "a joint venture ... that was seeking to trade farm equipment, oil and military weapons with Iran."[13] Roy Furmark was also involved.[14]

In June 1985 Hashemi approached William Casey with a new arms-for-hostages plan.[9] The Los Angeles Times reported in 1988 that "according to newly declassified CIA and State Department memos, Hashemi approached then-CIA Director William J. Casey with an arms-for-hostages plan of his own that was strikingly similar to the one that would soon be embraced by the White House as its secret Iran arms initiative."[15] A June 1985 CIA memo documented a call regarding a potential arms-for-hostages deal from Hashemi to Shaheen. The Times said in 1988 it had discovered that Hashemi was meeting with Adnan Khashoggi and Manucher Ghorbanifar, and that Hashemi's efforts to arrange a deal collapsed in August 1985 due to Kashoggi's competing efforts to arrange US access to Ghorbanifar via Robert McFarlane.[15]

Hashemi died on 21 July 1986 after becoming ill with a rare and "virulent" form of leukemia diagnosed only two days earlier. Although the cause of death was officially attributed to leukemia, there were suspicions of foul play. Following Hashemi's death, a congressional investigation was launched, and a Senate investigator made two trips to England to conduct inquiries. A U.S. government informant who had worked with Hashemi claimed that Customs Service officials had informed him that Hashemi may have been "bumped off" to safeguard the operation's confidentiality. An unidentified source from the committee investigating the arms deals asserted that they would be neglecting their responsibility if they did not follow up on what seemed to be mysterious death.[17][18]

The United States Customs Service investigated allegations made by an associate of Hashemi, Houshang Lavi, that one of their special agents was involved in the death of Hashemi. In December 1987, the UCCS reported: "This investigation has disclosed no information which tends to substantiate the allegation by Houshang Lavi that Special Agent Joseph King or any other Customs official was responsible for, or knowledgeable of any of the circumstances surrounding the death of Hashemi." I.E. West, one of the most experienced and respected forensic pathologists in the United Kingdom, performed an autopsy witnessed by two officials from New Scotland Yard as well as a representative from the United States Customs Service attache in London. West reported that Hashemi died of acute myoblastic leukemia, and said that the condition could not have been induced in Hashemi through drugs or other means. The House October Surprise Task Force investigating the 1980 October Surprise theory reported that they "found no evidence to contradict West's conclusion regarding Hashemi's death."[19]