Question

Why did the U.S. begin selling arms to the Iranians during the Iran-Iraq War?

Answer 1

In the eighties, officials of the government of the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, organized an operation to sell arms to Iran to finance the "Nicaraguan Contra", the right-wing guerrilla group that opposed the Sandinista National Liberation Front. , the party in power.

The sale of arms, moreover, was aimed at persuading Iran to release American hostages kidnapped by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon.

The US Congress had prohibited government organizations from financing the activities of the Nicaraguan "contra". But officials of the Reagan administration, including Colonel North, appealed to the National Security Council (NSC), which was not explicitly mentioned in the law drafted by Congress, to raise funds for the guerrillas.

The members of the NSC also participated in the illegal shipment of arms to Iran. At that time there was a trade embargo imposed by the United States. The scandal was discovered in 1986 when Lebanese newspapers revealed the operation of arms sales.