I‧ran‧gate /ɪˈrɑːnɡeɪt, ɪˈræn-/ , the Iˌran-ˈContra Afˌfair
a political scandal in 1987, when it was discovered that members of President Reagan's government had sold weapons to Iran in exchange for the return of US hostages (=people kept as prisoners by an enemy), and had then used the profits to support the Contras, an unofficial army that was fighting the government in Nicaragua

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲