Irangate: A Hope Shattered 141

I showed it to the pilot. He agreed with me, but reassured me: "In my experience with this
type of flights," he explained, "no one asks to the papers." I calmed down.
We explained the planned flight route to him. According to common procedure, when
a plane flies over a certain country, it receives assistance from a control tower of that
country. Before it crosses over to another country's airspace, the controllers hand over the
responsibility over the aircraft to the country into which it crosses. The new control tower
oversees the leg of the journey in its country and then hands over control to the next
country, and so on. The pilot listened and agreed to every word. I watched him closely. In
the end, the fate of the entire operation was in this man's hands. Was he the right man for
the task?
Normally, I handle every tiny detail and leave nothing to chance. But that wasn't
possible this time. With all my good intentions, I still can't fly a plane. I liked the pilot's cool-
headedness. He didn't seem too anxious. If we need to fly to Iran – he'll take us to Iran. If
we needed to fly to Libya – he'll take us there, too. During our meeting, I became convinced
that he was the right man for the job.
And indeed, I wasn't wrong. He managed to keep his cool even when we encountered
unexpected obstacles.
All that was left to discuss was the money. There was no argument here, either. The
crew will be compensated by the company owner directly. We were in charge of the
bonuses.
The pilot asked to receive his bonus payment immediately. Before the flight. I offered
him $10,000, and another $5,000 for each member of the crew. He objected. "You deal with
me and with me only. You don't know the others. You give everything to me, and I'll divide
it as I see fit." We didn't object.
The preparations were almost completed. A date was set: August 20, 1985. Ghorbanifar,
who had since left the country, returned to oversee the final stages. I insisted that he was
the one that flew with the missiles to Iran. As far as I was concerned, this was another test
he had to pass: free entry into Iran.
Ghorbanifar kept telling me how the gates of Iran were always open to him, but we had
never had the opportunity to verify that claim. To my surprise, he agreed without hesitation.
As the date of the flight approached, the TOW missiles were loaded onto the plane.
Ninety-six missiles in total, packed in special pallets of 12 missiles each. The missiles were
loaded by people from the Ministry of Defense, who even took care to remove any
identifying marks that may disclose the fact that the missiles came from the IDF's emergency
warehouses (see Appendix 6, pp. 291).
Two days before the flight, I traveled to Europe to meet with Khashoggi. A financing
issue
Irangate: A Hope Shattered 141

had arisen. It turned out that the Iranians, out of principle, were unwilling to pay for the
goods before they received it. On the other hand, the Ministry of Defense would not release
the missiles before it got the money. I asked Khashoggi to solve this problem.
I've known Khashoggi for many years, and I can't remember him ever pulling out his
checkbook so quickly. And not for the last time. Even before the operation, in September,
Khashoggi pulled out his checkbook and wrote a check for $4 million. To me, this was further
proof that he was our partner and our supporter.
Khashoggi entrusted me with a check for $1 million. Some of the money was used to
cover the heavy expenses I had suffered during the previous operation that did not go
through. As far as I was concerned, this was further proof that everything was in order. Each
party complied with its obligations. We provide the missiles, the Iranians provide the money,
even before the operation.

All the while, I had doubts about the Iranians' ability and intention to meet their other
commitment – releasing the hostages – but I hoped that they would not break their promise.
I returned to Israel for a final briefing. At first, I didn't recognize Ghorbanifar. Where
was the elegant man I had known? His costumer was perfect: ragged clothes brought in a
suitcase all the way from Perim, and a few days' stubble. As far as he was concerned,
everything was ready for a journey to the ayatollah state.
The plane took off as planned, on August 20, 1985, in the early hours of the morning. I
wasn't at the airport at the time of departure. Yehuda Elbocher was there. I made sure
everything went according to plan. The TOW missiles were loaded onto the back of the
plane, so there was plenty of room for the only passenger on board. Manuchar Ghorbanifar.
Before takeoff, we loaded some food and drink onto the plane. Although everything was
bought in a store in Savyon, we had made sure to remove all identifying marks. Nothing was
left to suggest that the plane came from Israel.
My people reported to me that the takeoff went as planned and the plane was heading
west, towards the Mediterranean. I was calm. I knew we wouldn't be able to contact the
plane during the flight. I hoped that Ghorbanifar and the crew would notify me once they
landed.
I knew we had done our best. The ties were tied, the permits were given, the missiles
were loaded. The rest is in God's hands.
Irangate: A Hope Shattered 141

A decision was made. In spite of what was said in the prime minister's office, we will
proceed. We will prove to him that all is not lost. We will not give up. If we break down and
surrender, we miss a historic opportunity, and we may regret it for generations to come.
After I got to Savyon, I sat down next to my phone, and a few hours later I managed to
get hold of Ghorbanifar. Knowing him, I'm convinced he'd been waiting for this phone call
since we parted ways in Geneva. He, too, didn't want to call off the operation. Although his
reasons were different from ours – financial, for the most part – it made no difference to
me.
He was once again swept up by my voracious determination. Our conversation was
short. He agreed with me that the operation was worthwhile and promised to calm down
the Iranians and tell them how sorry we are and how far we're willing to go with them, to
prove them that this was just a small mishap and not an attempt to fraud them.
Contrary to the reaction from Shimon Peres, who was ready to pack it in, I was surprised
by Washington's eagerness to carry on with the operation. But this time, the Americans
demanded to hear a clear commitment from the Iranians that they would release all
American hostages as soon as the first new-generation Hawk missiles arrive in Iran.
Washington had another demand from Iran: to promise to cease and desist all terrorist
activities.
At that time, I had no doubt that Oliver North had fully taken over the operation on the
American side. On November 27, North met in Washington with Director General of the
Ministry of Defense Menachem (Mendi) Meron and spoke to him about the need to send to
Iran 120 new-generation Hawk missiles.
Meron, following the new instructions from the prime minister and the minister of
defense, said that he could not commit to that, and that Israel would give its answer only
after he returned home. Meron asked if the United States intends to immediately fill the
shortage of Hawk missiles and spare parts and TOW missiles, to replace those that were
supplied to Iran two months earlier. North said he would take care of it. As proof of his
intentions, he said that General Secord had left on a special delegation to Israel to discuss
the matter.
I knew of North's efforts and was grateful for them. I still trusted him and saw him as a
brave military man who lets nothing get between him and his goal. Although he failed to
fulfill many of his commitments, I put it down to inexperience, the American way of doing
things, and his ambition to prove his worth and capabilities to his superiors at all costs.
All the while, I continued my efforts to calm things down in Iran. I pulled every string I
could. I spoke to Khashoggi at length, and he promised to use his connections in Iran. At the
same time, I reassured Ghorbanifar. I got to know the man. The more pleasantly he spoke