---
category: Intelligence Operation
end: 1987-02-27
location: Washington, D.C.
start: 1986-12-01
summary: The Tower Commission was the 1986-1987 presidential commission chaired by
  former Senator John Tower that investigated the Iran-Contra Affair and produced
  the first public account of NSC staff involvement in the arms-for-hostages scheme.
tags:
- Program
- Project
- USA
- IranContra
---

The [Tower Commission](/organizations/tower-commission/) was a presidential commission of inquiry established to investigate the [Iran-Contra Affair](/events/iran-contra-affair/). It was headed by former Senator [John Tower](/people/john-tower/).

The commission's investigation focused on the years 1984 to 1986. Its conclusions were largely seen as a cover-up, as it declared that some individuals in the [National Security Council](/organizations/national-security-council/), interested in the release of hostages in [Lebanon](/places/lebanon/), had tried to make a deal with the [Iranians](/places/iran/), selling them 97 [TOW missile](/concepts/tow-missile/)s and some Hawk missiles. The commission made no mention of the ongoing original arms channel between [Israel](/places/israel/) and [Iran](/places/iran/), despite [Tower's](/people/john-tower/) inside knowledge of the weapons trade with [Iran](/places/iran/).[^1]

[George H.W. Bush](/people/george-hw-bush/) later nominated [Tower](/people/john-tower/) for defense secretary, but he was not confirmed by [Congress](/places/united-states/) due to the controversy surrounding the commission's findings.[^1]

[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992.