May 25:A delegation of White House officials arrive in Tehran on a secret mission
intended to gain the freedom of U.S. hostages in Lebanon. This mission is an open-
ing element of what became known as the Iran-contra affair: the United States pro-
vided weapons to Iran (for use in its war with Iraq) in exchange for Iranian promises
to help free U.S. citizens held hostage in Lebanon by groups supported by Iran. The
first public report of the U.S.-Iran arms-for-hostages deal will appear on November 3.
July 22:Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres and Morocco’s King Hassan II hold meet-
ings in Ilfrane, Morocco, in the only public meeting to date of Arab and Israeli
leaders except for those between Egyptians and Israelis.
October 5:The Sunday Times(London) quotes former Israeli nuclear technician
Mordechai Vanunu as saying that Israel has been building nuclear weapons for two
decades and possesses as many as 200 such weapons. Vanunu will later be captured
in Rome and charged by Israeli authorities with espionage.
October 20:Under the power-sharing arrangement following 1984 elections, Yitzhak
Shamir becomes prime minister of Israel, swapping jobs with Shimon Peres, who
becomes foreign minister.
1987
January 20:Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite, who had been negotiating the release
of Western hostages in Lebanon, disappears. He is later confirmed to have been
taken hostage himself.
January 24:Three American and one Indian professor at the American University of
Beirut are taken hostage.
April 20–26:The Palestine National Council, meeting in Algiers, reelects Arafat as
chairman of the PLO; the meeting is called to end feuding among the group’s var-
ious factions. Arafat accepts a demand by extremist factions to take a harder line
against Israel.
May 19:After months of hesitation, the United States signs an agreement to re-flag
Kuwaiti oil tankers and protect them from Iranian attack in the Persian Gulf. The
first U.S. escort of tankers will take place on July 22.
June 1:Lebanese prime minister Rashid Karami, who had announced his resignation
in May because of the country’s political gridlock, is killed when a bomb explodes
in his helicopter. Selim al-Hoss is appointed acting prime minister.
July 20:The UN Security Council adopts Resolution 598 demanding a cease-fire between
Iran and Iraq. Iraq will accept the resolution the following day, but Iran rejects it.
July 31:A riot by Iranian pilgrims near the Grand Mosque in Mecca leads to the death
of more than 400 people. Iranians attack the Saudi and Kuwaiti embassies in Tehran
the following day.
November 11:Meeting in Amman, Arab leaders take their strongest stand yet on the
Iran-Iraq War, condemning Iran for its “procrastination” in responding to calls for
a cease-fire.
December 8:Four Palestinians are killed when a vehicle driven by an Israeli acciden-
tally runs into theirs at a checkpoint.
December 9:Funerals for the Palestinians killed the preceding day in Gaza turn into
demonstrations against the Israeli occupation, marking the start of the first intifada.
The uprising will last, intermittently, until the Israeli-PLO peace process begins in
1993.
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