Iranians had tour of White House—Secord

Press, 13 May 1987, Page 10

Iranians had tour of White House—Secord

NZPA-Reuter Washington

Iranian officials were given a secret late-night tour of the White House during negotiations on an arms-for-hostages deal last September, says Richard Secord, an Important witness in the scandal. The retired Air Force major who appeared for four days before a congressional investigating committee last week, told the ABC television network yesterday that a White House aide, Oliver North, guided three Iranian officials on the tour.

General Secord said the officials — "including one person who was close to a very high official" in the Iranian Government — were spirited into the United States for negotiations at the White House complex.

They met LieutenantColonel North, General Secord, and a C.I.A. representative, George Cave, for several days, “and

were even given the standard tourist tour of the White House late at night,” by North, General Secord said. President Reagan was not in the White House at the time, he said, but the Secret Service was aware of the tour. General Secord said the committee investigating -the diversion of profits to contra guerrillas fighting the Left-wing Nicaraguan Government did not question him about the tour because they were running out of time. Lieutenant-Colonel North was the National Security Council staff member who ran the Iran arms operation. He was dismissed after the disclosure that money from the arms deal was diverted to the rebels. General Secord said the purpose of the Iranian visit was to revive the trade of United States arms for American hostages held in Lebanon,

which had collapsed the previous May after a trip to Teheran by a former Security head, Robert McFarlane. The immediate result was the shipment of 500 TOW anti-tank missiles to Iran for wich the United States had been promised the release of two of the three United States hostages then in Lebanbn immediately, with the third to follow shortly afterward. '

However, only one, David Jacobsen, was actually released oh November 2, 1986.

Mr McFarlane is scheduled to appear before the Congressional joint committee today for cross-examination on the five hours of testimony he gave yesterday.

Mr McFarlane told the panel that President Reagan undertook repeated efforts to keep aid flowing to the contras at a time that Congress had banned such support