The Iran-Contra Affair (Iran-Gate) Overview
📌 The scandal, known as Iran-Contra (or McFarlane Affair in Iran), simultaneously involved multiple seemingly unrelated countries: Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, the US, Nicaragua, and Israel.
🇺🇸 The crisis stemmed from the US Reagan administration's secret effort to sell arms to Iran (which was under an arms embargo) to secure the release of American hostages in Lebanon, while diverting profits to fund the Contras rebels in Nicaragua.
💥 The crisis began unfolding in earnest in October/November 1986 following the downing of a Nicaraguan aircraft carrying arms for the Contras and the subsequent media leak by the Lebanese newspaper *Al-Shiraa*.

US Context and Motivation (1986)
🔺 President Reagan was facing pressure concerning the Contras in Nicaragua after Congress banned aid to the anti-Sandinista group.
🤝 The US saw an opportunity to secretly shift alliances; despite being enemies, the US believed normalizing relations with Iran could weaken Iraq (an ally of the Soviet Union) and potentially restore pre-revolution US-Iran ties.
🇺🇸 The immediate domestic priority for the US public was the release of American hostages held in Lebanon, primarily by groups linked to Hezbollah.

The Arms Deal Mechanism
📜 The proposed deal, conceived by Oliver North, involved Israel selling modern weapons to Iran, which was desperate for arms due to the war with Iraq and US sanctions.
💰 The profits from the arms sale (sold at inflated prices by Israel) were to be transferred directly to the Contras in Nicaragua, bypassing US congressional bans.
🇮🇷 Iran agreed primarily because of critical shortages of weaponry needed for major offensive operations, such as the planned attack on Basra (Operation Valfajr 8).

Key Players and Initial Contacts
👤 Manouchehr Ghorbanifar, a key arms dealer who previously worked with SAVAK and had contacts in both pre-revolution Iran and Israel, served as the primary middleman connecting Iran and the US/Israel.
🇮🇷 The initial Iranian contact was Mohsen Kangarlou, security advisor to the Prime Minister, after Ghorbanifar assured the US that Iran would cooperate if weapons were provided.
✈️ The direct US delegation, led by former National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane, secretly visited Tehran in May 1986, bringing gifts including a Colt pistol and a cake (symbolizing opening relations), but failed to secure high-level meetings.

Internal Disagreements and Exposure
🙅‍♂️ Key Iranian figures, notably Ayatollah Khamenei (the Supreme Leader), Mir-Hossein Mousavi (Prime Minister), and Ayatollah Montazeri (Deputy Leader), were either unaware of the full scope or actively disagreed with normalizing ties with the US.
📰 The scandal was exposed after Seyed Mehdi Hashemi, Ayatollah Montazeri's son-in-law, allegedly leaked the information to the Lebanese newspaper *Al-Shiraa* out of anger over being sidelined.
🛑 Following the exposure, Hashemi Rafsanjani publicly denied all arms purchases and meetings, claiming McFarlane arrived unannounced with fake documents. Mehdi Hashemi was later executed on unrelated charges, which Montazeri claimed was retribution for exposing the affair.

Consequences and Aftermath
📉 In Nicaragua, the resulting cutoff of aid led to the weakening of the Contras, ultimately forcing the Sandinista government to negotiate free elections.
🇺🇸 President Reagan successfully shielded himself from impeachment by publicly disavowing knowledge and claiming rogue actors were responsible, though international opinion generally held him accountable.
💔 Robert McFarlane became the scapegoat, was disgraced, and later attempted suicide before writing his memoirs.
🛑 For Iran, the flow of arms stopped, impacting the war effort, which some historians suggest contributed to the later acceptance of UN Resolution 598 ("a cup of poison").

Key Points & Insights
➡️ The deal was seen by the US as a "win-win" for their foreign policy goals: keeping the Iran-Iraq War going to weaken Arab states relative to Israel, and securing Contra funding.
➡️ Trust was extremely low: The US administered a lie detector test to Ghorbanifar twice, where he failed both times, yet he remained the essential link because no other option existed.
➡️ Iran's primary internal split on the issue was between factions advocating for utilizing the opportunity to secure arms and potentially normalize relations (like Rafsanjani) versus those vehemently opposed to dealing with the "Great Satan" (like Mousavi).

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Nov 10, 2025, 03:18 UTC