According to a 1984 CIA memo, William Casey recruited John Shaheen and Cyrus Hashemi in 1979 "to sell off property in New York City belonging to the shah's Pahlavi Foundation.
A 1992 Senate investigation concluded that Hashemi was involved in a 1980 CIA attempt to funnel $500,000 to the campaign of Iranian presidential candidate Ahmad Madani, ahead of the Iranian presidential election, 1980.