The Iran-contra Affair

Iran-contra affair is the name of a major United States foreign policy scandal in the 1980's. It involved two secret operations by the executive branch of the government. The operations were (1) the sale of military equipment to Iran, an enemy of the United States; and (2) the provision of military aid to contra rebels in Nicaragua, which Congress had banned. The two operations were connected by the use of profits from the Iranian arms sales to aid the contra rebels.
Background. In 1979, a political coalition called the Sandinistas led a revolution in Nicaragua and took control of the government. After United States President Ronald Reagan took office in 1981, he claimed the Sandinistas had set up a Communist dictatorship. He directed the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to begin aiding the contras, Nicaraguan rebels who were fighting to overthrow the Sandinistas. In 1983, however, Congress voted to limit the CIA support. In October 1984, Congress voted to cut off all aid to the contras.
Administration actions. The Reagan Administration sought ways to continue aiding the contras after the congressional ban. At first, it secretly raised funds from several foreign countries and wealthy Americans to help finance the contra efforts.
In 1985, the Administration initiated a secret "arms-for-hostages" operation designed to free seven Americans held hostage by terrorists in Lebanon. Reagan had said he would never deal with supporters of terrorists, which he considered Iran's leaders to be. But he and his advisers believed Iran could get the hostages released. Members of the Administration arranged for the CIA to secretly purchase arms from the Department of Defense. Private individuals bought the arms from the CIA and sold them to Iran in return for its promises of help in the hostage release. But the sales led to the release of only three hostages, and three more Americans were taken hostage during the same period. Administration agents secretly diverted (transferred) profits from the arms sales to the contras.
Reagan said he could not recall whether he knew in advance about the 1985 arms shipments and that he knew nothing about the diversion of funds. Both actions had been carried out by staff of the National Security Council (NSC), a White House intelligence and policy coordinating agency. Marine Lieutenant Colonel Oliver L. North, an NSC aide, was the person most closely involved in the management of the Iran-contra operations.
Charges and court actions. Reports of the arms sales and contra aid became widely known in November 1986.