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10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Mehdi Karrubi.md
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@ -12,12 +12,11 @@ updated: 2026-05-14
born: 1937-01-09
location: "Aligudarz, Lorestan, Iran"
---
Mehdi Karrubi was born on January 9, 1937, in Aligudarz, Lorestan Province, Iran. A Shia cleric who studied under [[Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini]] in [[Qom]], he became one of the founding figures of the [[Islamic Republic]] and held the position of Speaker of the Iranian [[Majlis]] (Parliament) in two separate terms: 1989-1992 and 2000-2004. He ran unsuccessfully for president in 2005 and 2009; his second presidential campaign was associated with the reformist wave that produced the [[Green Movement]] protests of June 2009.[^1]
### October Surprise Claims
Karrubi is significant for the [[October Surprise]] subject because of allegations - never independently verified - that he had personal knowledge of negotiations between representatives of the [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] presidential campaign and Iranian officials in 1980. According to accounts in the 1991 investigation by journalist [[Gary Sick]] and congressional investigations of the period, Karrubi was present at or aware of discussions in which Iranian officials were approached about delaying the release of the American hostages held at the U.S. Embassy in [[Tehran]] until after the November 1980 election.
Karrubi made allegations concerning the [[October Surprise]] (never independently verified) that he had personal knowledge of negotiations between representatives of the [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] presidential campaign and Iranian officials in 1980. According to accounts in the 1991 investigation by journalist [[Gary Sick]] and congressional investigations of the period, Karrubi was present at or aware of discussions in which Iranian officials were approached about delaying the release of the American hostages held at the U.S. Embassy in [[Tehran]] until after the November 1980 election.
Karrubi himself reportedly made statements to Iranian journalists in the 1980s suggesting that money had changed hands in connection with the hostage negotiations and that external parties had been involved. The specific claim was that the [[CIA]] or Reagan campaign had paid for the delay, and that Karrubi had awareness of the financial arrangements. No documentary evidence for these claims was produced in the various October Surprise investigations, and the 1992 House task force chaired by Representative Lee Hamilton concluded insufficient evidence existed to confirm the conspiracy.[^2]