Reagan’s Aides Give Conflicting Accounts on Arms

Senior White House officials offered a variety of contradictory and conflicting accounts Friday of the Reagan Administration’s controversial program of arms shipments to Iran.

Launching a media blitz reminiscent of its campaign to paint the Iceland summit with Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev as a success, White House officials appeared at numerous press forums to defend the shipments as basically an effort to open up a dialogue with Iran and not to ransom American hostages, two key elements in President Reagan’s nationally televised address Thursday.

But at one point, the President’s chief of staff, Donald T. Regan, briefing a group of journalists at the White House, referred to the Iranian affair as a “trade” of arms for hostages. The Americans proposed to show their “good faith” by shipping arms to Iran, Regan said, and the Iranians could demonstrate their determination to stop their sponsorship of international terrorism by gaining the release of some of the American hostages in Lebanon.

“That was the trade,” he said. Moments later, the 67-year-old chief of staff, looking exhausted, added: “I realized the minute I said that word trade (that) that was the wrong word to use. I retract that. . . . I misspoke.”

At another point Regan denied that the President had violated his own policy of opposing the shipment of arms to a terrorist country. But, under questioning, he conceded that Reagan “decided to bend his policy in a minimal amount in order to . . . establish a relationship with Iran.”

Carefully Thought Out

Appearing with Regan, John M. Poindexter, who directed the Iranian operation from the White House after becoming Reagan’s national security adviser last December, described the mission as long-planned and carefully thought out.

But, at another point, he said it was “always operating against the clock” for fear that word of it would leak out. Asked what he meant about time pressure, he said:

“We’re talking hostages, we’re talking Iran-Iraq War, . . . we’re talking about the very precarious position that Iran finds itself in today.”

Iran’s elderly top leader, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, “at some point . . . will pass from the scene,” Poindexter added. And at that point, he said, “it’s very important that the transition in that government be a stable one that does not give the Soviet Union an opportunity to cause problems.”

‘Good People Involved’

At another point, Poindexter said CIA Director William J. Casey “has some very good people involved in this project.” Then he added: “I wish I hadn’t said that on the record.”

The chief of staff told reporters at the breakfast session that Israel had done everything it could to help the United States in the secret operation. But Poindexter, when asked about Israel’s part, said: “I’m not on the record as saying Israel is involved at all.”

Regan, asked if it was “hypocritical” for the President to speak out publicly against dealing with terrorists while privately shipping arms to Iran, insisted that it was a “question of degree.”

“Had we armed Iran and sold them, let’s say, 14 boatloads of high-explosive arms or, heaven forbid, an atomic weapon or something of that nature, yeah. But spare parts and anti-aircraft . . . missiles in order to get a dialogue started that would lead to the cessation of terrorism, is that a good trade-off?”

‘Token Amounts’ of Arms

Regan said the Iranians asked for “token amounts” of arms because they “were not sure that the contacts they had here were wired into the White House and to the President himself. . . . They knew that this President is the only one who can release arms in view of our policy of not helping either side in that Iran-Iraq War.

“We agreed to do that,” Regan said. “With perfect hindsight, maybe that was in error. But when you’re trying for bold courses in diplomacy you cannot anticipate everything that’s going to happen.”

Both Regan and Poindexter portrayed Reagan as being so preoccupied with the plight of the hostages that he constantly brought them up at foreign affairs briefings.

Thinking of Hostages

Poindexter said that the President had had them on his mind from the first day of their capture and had brought them up at at least 50% of his briefings. Regan said it was more like 90% of the briefings.

“That’s a damned good thing that we have a President that has that in mind. You can rest assured tonight . . . your government is behind you,” Regan added.

The President told a group of philanthropists meeting at the White House on Friday that the freed hostages were “a bonus” that resulted from his efforts to open channels of communication with Iran.

“Now that the veil of secrecy has been lifted, the unfounded rumors laid to rest, I think most Americans will approve of our efforts to better relations between our countries and rejoice that it has resulted in the freeing of some of our fellow citizens who had been hostages,” Reagan declared.

However, an ABC Television poll Friday showed that 56% of Americans who heard the President’s speech still believe that there was an arms-for-hostages deal and 64% believe the operation would result in the seizure of more hostages.

Times staff writer Eleanor Clift contributed to this story.