http://www.geocities.com/purplesage23/1980.html"October: American, Iranian, and Saudi Arabian representatives conduct secret negotiations in Paris on the fate of the U.S. hostages. The decision, known in some circles as the "October Surprise," is made to delay release of the hostages until after the American elections, in hopes of ensuring a victory by GOP candidate Ronald Reagan.
Among those involved in the negotiations are Vice-Presidential candidate George H.W. Bush, future CIA director William Casey, Henry Kissinger, and Salem bin Laden, Osama's older brother and an intimate friend of King Fahd. Reagan hints at a "secret plan" to free the hostages. Although details of the meeting remain shrouded in secrecy, most expert observers believe that the GOP representatives promise to end the American arms embargo against Iran if that country will free the hostages after the election."
On edit: It seems to be more speculation than proven fact. I found a more cautious presentation of the same story, which says, "Salem bin Laden, Osama's oldest brother, is later described by a French secret intelligence report as one of the two closest friends of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd. As such, he often performs important missions for Saudi Arabia. The French report speculates that he is involved in secret Paris meetings between US and Iranian emissaries this month. Frontline, which published the French report, notes that such meetings have never been confirmed. Rumors of these meetings have been called the “October Surprise” and some have speculated Bush Sr. negotiated in these meetings a delay to the release of the US hostages in Iran, thus helping Ronald Reagan and Bush win the 1980 Presidential election."
http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=complete_911_timeline&theme=saudi