Manucher Ghorbanifar

Manucher Ghorbanifar is an expatriate Iranian arms dealer who served as the principal intermediary in the Iran-Contra affair. A former SAVAK associate under the Shah, he built a fortune in shipping before the Iranian Revolution and relocated to France after his assets were seized. In 1985, Ghorbanifar proposed the arms-for-hostages arrangement to U.S. and Israeli officials, brokering the initial shipments of TOW missiles and Hawk missile parts to Iran during the Iran-Iraq War. He added a 41-percent markup to arms prices and was described by American officials as playing both sides for commercial advantage. The CIA issued a 'burn notice' on Ghorbanifar in 1984 after he failed multiple polygraph tests, labeling him an unreliable source. He re-emerged as a back-channel intelligence source to Pentagon officials during the lead-up to the 2003 Iraq War.