Who is Farhad from Confessions of an Economic Hit Man and what is their importance?

Farhad is John's Iranian friend that he meets at Middlebury college. He is the son of an Iranian general, who is directly linked with the Shah. Farhad is a very important figure in John's life. They befriend each other while attending Middlebury college and both got into trouble. Farhad encourages John to rebel against his parents and stop going to classes and purposely failing. When the two get into a barfight, Farhad is kicked out of school, and John quits, moving to Boston, where he meets his first wife and makes his initial connections to become and EHM. Many years down the road, he encounters Farhad in Iran. Farhad convinces him to leave the country, and they meet with Farhad's parents in Rome where Farhad's father teaches John new things about the world he is altering.