Description: The Iran-Conoco Affair… …a dirty rotten scandal Download Story Conoco first began dealing with Iran clandestinely in 1991. In a plan that was conceived by
…a dirty, rotten scandal
Conoco first began dealing with Iran clandestinely in 1991. In a plan that was conceived by Conoco President, Constantine S. Nicandros [1], Conoco would negotiate a deal with Iran's government before the US sanctions law that prohibited the dealings was repealed by Congress. Later when US public opinion softened towards Iran, Conoco could lobby Congress to repeal the sanctions law and have the Iran-Conoco deal “legalized”. [2]
Conoco enjoyed an advantage over its competition -- Nicandros had a very good friend, President George H. W. Bush, who also had a long history of making deals with rogue states, including Iran. In fact, Bush had been twice exposed for coordinating illegal dealings with Iran -- Ronald Reagan's 1979 October Surprise, and in the “Iran” prong of the Reagan-Bush administration's Iran-Contra Affair. To help Nicandros, Bush promised Nicandros to intentionally fail in his responsibilities to enforce US sanctions la