Ali Hashemi Bahramani

Ali Hashemi Bahramani was a nephew of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and an officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In August 1986, he was established as an alternative Iranian contact in the Iran-Contra affair after American frustration with Manucher Ghorbanifar's unreliability. Known to U.S. officials as 'the Relative' or the 'second channel,' Bahramani met frequently with Oliver North in West Germany during the summer and autumn of 1986 to discuss arms sales, hostage releases, and potential U.S.-Iranian cooperation against Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War. North was reportedly so impressed with him that he arranged a midnight tour of the White House for Bahramani. He was approximately 20 years old at the time of these negotiations. In October 1986, Bahramani informed North that Rafsanjani had decided to involve all Iranian factions in the talks, not just the 'moderate' group — a signal that the deal's premises were unraveling.