Reagan Administration Secretly Sells Arms to Iran, Funds Nicaraguan Contras

Senior Reagan administration officials secretly sold weapons to Iran — then subject to an arms embargo — and diverted the proceeds to fund Nicaraguan Contra rebels, circumventing a congressional ban on Contra aid known as the Boland Amendment. National Security Council staffer Lt. Col. Oliver North coordinated the operation with National Security Advisor John Poindexter and CIA Director William Casey. The arrangement allowed the executive branch to conduct covert foreign policy and fund military operations entirely outside the congressional appropriations process.