House Leader: Iran Paid $12M for Missiles

WASHINGTON--Accusing the Reagan Administration of violating the law, House Majority Leader Jim Wright (D-Tex.) said today that Iran paid more than $12 million for the weapons it purchased from the United States.

Wright, commenting after a closed-door hearing with CIA Director William Casey, told reporters that 1000 of the 2008 TOW missiles bought from the United States were assembled in San Antonio last February. Others were shipped separately, he said.

"All were paid for by Iran--$12 million plus," Wright said.

Wright, who is likely to be House Speaker next year, said that other than the United States and Israel, "several other countries" have shipped arms to Iran. But he said these shipments were not necessarily connected to the efforts by the United States to improve U.S.-Iranian relations and free American hostages held in Lebanon.

"We have learned about people from other countries who have been involved in shipments [of arms] with the condoning of the United States and the complicity of the United States in some instances," Wright said.

And he said these countries "felt, at least, that they were abiding with the wishes of the United States" in shipping arms to Iran.

Wright said Casey assured members of the House Intelligence Committee that there are no other cases in which the CIA has been ordered to withhold information about a covert operation from Congress.

"I don't think there is any question that the law has been broken," Wright said.

He said the law forbids the United States from withholding secret information from the Congress and said it is "clear and unambiguous."

Rep. Henry Hyde (R-III.) emerged from the private briefing and said, "I think there is an unresolved difference of opinion on the interpretation of the law."

"I think there was no violation of the law," Hyde declared. And, referring to the keyword used by the administration's critics, he said: " 'Timely' is a word of art. The law in that regard was deliberately drawn in a vague fashion."

"Clearly the President has the right to withhold information from Congress. I'm not saying it was wise. I'm saying it was unwise," he said.

Rep. Bob McEwen (R-Ohio), commenting on the entire situation, said, "Hell hath no fury like a congressional committee scorned."

Wright said Casey confirmed reports that Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III reviewed the President's order directing the CIA to withhold information about the Iran operation from Congress and that Casey complied with it.

"The problem lies at a higher level than that," Wright said. "The problem lies with the determination of someone in the executive branch that the president doesn't have to abide by the law unless he wants to."

Earlier, White House officials briefed members of the House committee on "the whole set-up" of the secret details of the Iranian arms deal.