REAGAN DENIES TOLD IRAN PROFITS WENT TO CONTRAS
President Reagan denied he had been
told that profits from sales of arms to Iran had been used to
aid the U.S.-backed "contra" rebels in Nicaragua.
    "No, that is not true," he said before a televised news
conference when asked about reports that he had been told about
the money diversion by his former National Security Adviser,
John Poindexter.
    Reagan was giving his first formal White House press
conference in four months since the Iran arms affair burst into
scandal with the disclosure profits from weapons sales had been
diverted, possibly illegally, to the contras.
    He said the secret approach to Iran had resulted in the
release of three American hostages held by pro-Iranian elements
in Lebanon and that it might have freed more if the operation
had not been made public.
    Reagan told reporters -- as he had told a presidential
commission that investigated the scandal -- that he did not
remember when he had approved an August, 1985, shipment of U.S.
arms to Iran through Israel.
    Reagan opened the news conference -- seen as vital in
rebuilding his damaged presidency and restoring his authority
-- with a statement on the yawning U.S. budget deficit.
    He again stated his opposition to tax increases and called
for a constitutional amendment to balance the budget.
    Asked if in hindsight he would again start a secret program
to sell arms to Iran, Reagan said, "No, I would not go down that
same road again."
    Tonight's news conference was widely seen as an opportunity
for Reagan, 76, to demonstrate he was in command of affairs
despite the crisis.
    Reagan said, referring to the Iran arms program, "If I
hadn't thought it was right in the beginning, I never would
have started it."
    He said he went into the deal because he was persuaded that
he was not dealing directly with the kidnappers.
    "You cannot do business with them," he said.
    But "suddenly you have a third party there (Iran) ... and it
was not trading with the kidnappers," he said.
    The news conference in the White House East Room lasted 32
minutes -- two minutes more than normal -- most of which was
devoted to the Iran affair.
    At the last minute, a reporter asked whether Vice President
George Bush had opposed the arms sales as Secretary of State
George Shultz and Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger had done.
    Reagan replied, "No," smiled, waved and walked away from the
podium toward the White House residence.
 Reuter
