Oriental Rugs the O'Connell Notes

Notes on Former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and the US

Former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has a long history with the United States and it is worth telling. In the 1970s Rafsanjani served as the point man for the Imam Khomeini in the Shah's Iran. After the people of Iran threw off the yoke of the Shah's oppression and choose Imam Khomeini to lead them Rafsanjani served Iran in a variety of roles. In many of these roles he had dealings with the United States.

The 1984 Secret Talks with the US

In 1984 Former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani as the then speaker of the Majlis (the Congress) entered into secret talks with the United States. In the middle of the talks a group of CIA backed terrorists pirated a television station in Tehran and broadcast an attack on Imam Khomeini featuring the son of the former shah. This destroyed the peace talks and were a major embarrassment to Majlis speaker Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani

1992 Bush deceives Rafsanjani in Hostage Deal

In 1992 Former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was approached by Giandomenico Picco a United Nations diplomat. Would Rafsanjani risk his own Presidency to rescue the American and European Hostages in Lebanon? A President only has so much political capital and this was a huge risk even for a President as popular as Rafsanjani. Giandomenico Picco promised Rafsanjani that the United States would return the favor. Rafsanjani delivered and the hostages including Terry Anderson returned home. President Bush reneged on the deal. For a first hand account of this see: CNN - 'Man Without a Gun' - Giandomenico Picco and President Rafsanjani

Sadly the US did not stop at tricking Rafsanjani but even went as far to denigrate him in public: "`Iran always wanted something in return for the hostages. [Iranian President Hashemi] Rafsanjani is an opportunist, not a philanthropist. If he wants to secure the release of hostages, he wants to be paid in some form,' one State Department official explained."Washington Post, Mar. 18, 1990 The Hostage Labyrinth, by Nora Boustany

1995 The Conoco Oil Deal

In 1995 President Rafsanjani selected the American oil company Conoco to take a 30 percent stake in Iran's major new Sirri A and E offshore oil fields. This was the open hand of friendship extended from President Rafsanjani to President Clinton. In perhaps Clinton's greatest foreign policy mistake Clinton envoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to block the deal. Once again Rafsanjani reached out to the United States only to be rebuffed.

This is certainly not an exhaustive list and I will be adding at least one more major episode when I get a few more details. JBOC