The Iran–Contra affair, often referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal, was a political scandal in the United States that occurred during the second term of President Reagan. Between 1981 and 1986, senior administration officials secretly facilitated the illegal sale of arms to Iran, which was subject to an arms embargo at the time. The administration hoped to use the proceeds of the arms sale to fund the Contras, an anti-Marxist rebel group in Nicaragua.
Domestically, the affair precipitated a drop in President Reagan’s popularity. His approval ratings suffered “the largest single drop for any U.S. president in history”, from 67% to 46% in November 1986, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll. President Reagan’s popularity survived the affair, however, and his approval rating recovered.