President Reagan did not approve the secret Iranian initiative until January 1986.

Under the new approach, the agency could still conduct secret diplomatic missions ordered by Mr. Reagan, the official said, but he suggested that they would not include formal covert operations such as the Iranian initiative.

The Iranian initiative was completely legal.

Q. Can you tell the ladies and gentlemen of the jury what you understand - what you understood the Iranian initiative to be?

As described to Bob Gates and myself all of the agency's activities in support of the Iranian initiative took place after the finding was signed in January 1986.

I think there were a lot of documents that he destroyed that had no relationship to the Iranian initiative or had any relationship to the contra diversion of funds.

Colonel North was dismissed and Admiral Poindexter resigned after the Iranian initiative was disclosed.

It was a minor part . . . the real thing was the disclosure making this whole thing public and in effect blowing the Iranian initiative.

Indeed, I was among those not kept advised of the Iranian initiative.

"There were three separate mandates from the President - all supposedly unrelated: the Iranian initiative, the hostages and the contras," he said.