On February 5, 1986, Shackley was interviewed by the Tower Commission investigating the Iran–Contra affair. Shackley reported that he met with General Manucher Hashemi, the former head of SAVAK's counterintelligence division, in Hamburg, West Germany in November 1984. There, Hashemi introduced Shackley to Manucher Ghorbanifar stating that Ghorbanifar's contacts in Iran were "fantastic". Ghorbanifar, known to the CIA as a person of questionable reliability and veracity, attempted to show that he and Hashemi had influence in Iran by stating that the Iranians would be willing to trade captured Soviet equipment for TOW missiles. Ghorbanifar also proposed that a cash payment be offered as ransom for the four American hostages held in Beirut, Lebanon (which included William Francis Buckley) and that he act as the intermediary. Shackley stated that Ghorbanifar presented a deadline of December 7, 1984.