The Iran contra scandal in 1986 and 1987

Congress had designated Iran a terrorist country and outlawed

the sale of weapons to them. In November 1986, newspapers reported

that the US government had secretly sold weapons to Iran, to win

support to help free US hostages.

When congressional hearings were

held in 1987, they found President Reagan had no direct knowledge of what

his aids had done. But the hearings criticized him for that and said he

should have paid more attention. The Iran Contra scandal tarnished Reagan’s

public image, and Congress began to reject some of his initiatives.