US High-Ranking Official Jailed After Being Caught Selling Missiles to Iran

Amid the image of intense hostility between the United States (US) and Iran, history records a major irony. It turns out that in the era of President Ronald Reagan, this occurred during the Iran-Contra scandal in the mid-1980s. On the surface, Iran and the West appeared opposed. However, behind the scenes, secret communication channels remained open for Washington’s political and economic interests.

The roots of the conflict stemmed from the Iranian Revolution that overthrew Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and gave birth to a new regime under Ruhollah Khomeini. Since then, US-Iran relations had deteriorated drastically. This was further exacerbated by the hostage crisis at the US Embassy in Tehran, which led Washington to sever diplomatic ties and impose a total embargo, including a ban on arms sales.

However, relations began to shift when Reagan took office. The US faced a geopolitical dilemma, namely the protracted negotiations for the release of US citizens held hostage in Lebanon and Iran’s threat of going pro-communist. At the same time, Iran needed weapons to fight in the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988).

In this situation, US-Iran ties opened up and led to a controversial policy, namely approving arms trade. The US would send weapons to Iran.

“Reagan’s officials faced complexities in formulating a successful strategy. But they were also confronted with a painful legacy for the national memory,” wrote Robert Bussy in Reagan and the Iran-Contra Affair (1999: 56).

Unable to trade directly, the US, through the National Security Council, utilised Israel as an intermediary. The Menachem Begin administration accepted this scheme because it saw its own strategic opportunities, including facilitating the relocation of Iranian Jews. According to Alessandra Cecolin in Iranian Jews in Israel (2015), the emigration of Iranian Jews to Israel was considered illegal, but this opportunity became part of informal negotiations between Khomeini and Begin.

Finally, starting in 1985, Washington initially sent 500 missiles, which surged to thousands within less than six months. However, the proceeds from the sales, around US$48 million, did not go into the state treasury. The money was instead secretly diverted to support the Contra group in Nicaragua, which was fighting the pro-communist regime, even though the US Congress had banned it.

The scandal was finally exposed in November 1986. The New York Times (25 November 1986) reported that the case immediately shook the US because the secret operation contradicted the official policy of hostility towards Iran. In a press conference on 19 November 1986, Reagan acknowledged the operation initiated by his subordinates.

“Eighteen months ago, the administration began a secret initiative to the Islamic Republic of Iran. But our goal was to end the enmity, war, terrorism, and free the hostages,” he said.

As a result of the scandal, Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, the National Security Council Chairman, and several other high-ranking state officials resigned and served prison sentences. However, Reagan himself was declared not guilty and successfully completed his term.

Nevertheless, the scandal remains evidence in global politics that the line between enemies and allies can be very thin. What appears in public does not always reflect the reality behind the scenes.