On 25 November 1986, the Iran-Contra affair exploded onto the world stage as US President Ronald Reagan publicly admitted that his administration had secretly sold arms to Iran—a nation under an arms embargo—with the purported aim of securing the release of American hostages in Lebanon.
The revelation also uncovered that funds from these clandestine arms sales had been channelled to support Contra rebels fighting the Sandinista government in Nicaragua, despite a congressional prohibition.
This scandal, which raised grave questions about executive overreach, accountability, and adherence to American laws, marked a seismic political crisis during Reagan's presidency, tarnishing his administration's credibility on the global front.
