Amiram Nir
Amiram Nir (
Career
Nir served as Shimon Peres' campaign manager in 1977 and as party spokesman for Peres' party. He subsequently became a correspondent for Israeli television,[3] and in 1982 was military correspondent for Channel One.[2] He also rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Israel Defense Forces reserves.[3]
In November 1984 Nir was appointed to the new post of counterterrorism advisor under Prime Minister Shimon Peres, remaining in the position under Peres' successor Yitzhak Shamir.[3] In the position of Counter-terrorism Advisor Nir played a key role in the Israeli response to the 1985 Achille Lauro hijacking.[3]
Nir also played a role in the
Death and conspiracy theory
On November 30, 1988, the
Given his connections to the Iran–Contra scandal, Nir's death sparked conspiracy theories that he was murdered to prevent him from revealing embarrassing details about then-President-elect of the United States George H. W. Bush.[12] In his 2008 book The Secret War with Iran, Ronen Bergman said that after Nir's death there was an organized effort of burglaries targeting documents in the homes and offices of people involved in the Iran–Contra affair, including Nir's widow.[12] One of two survivors of the plane crash, the Canadian Adriana Stanton, said in an Israeli television interview in 2009 that she had seen Nir alive and well after the crash.[12] On a different Israeli television program in 2014, Nir's son Nimrod stated that after years of investigating his father's death, he believed it was an assassination and suggested Bush was responsible.[12] Haaretz said there was "no proof" for the allegations[13] and The Times of Israel has called them "unsubstantiated".[12]
References
- ^ Larry Rohter, 6 December 1988, The New York Times, Nir's Fatal Mexico Visit Called a Business Trip
- ^ a b Sara Leibovich-Dar, Haaretz, 26 February 2003, She who must be obeyed
- ^ Scarecrow Press, p210-212
- OCLC 612998360. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
- ^ Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 5 October 1992, Amiram Nir's Widow Does Not Know How Abc Got Iran-contra Document
- ^ Mitch Ginsburg, The Times of Israel, 30 September 2013, When Rouhani unwittingly told an Israeli agent how to deal with Iran
- ynetnews.com, 26 June 2013, Rohani in 1986: West too soft on Khomeini
- ^ Bergman (2008:128-129)
- ^ a b c "Iran-Contra Figure Reported Killed in Plane Crash". apnews.com. December 1, 1988. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Branigin, William (December 8, 1988). "Mexicans Say It's Clear Nir Was Trying To Corner Avocados". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ^ Branigin, William (December 4, 1988). "Survivor of Mexican Crash Reportedly Used Alias". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f "Israeli counterterror chief's son blames US for his 1988 assassination". The Times of Israel. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ "Son of Israel's Ex-counterrorism Chief Claims Bush to Blame for 1988 Death". Haaretz. 1 June 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2020.