Office of the Historian

Abbreviations and Terms

  • AADC, Area Air Defense Commander
  • AAPSO, Afro-Asian Peoples’ Solidarity Organization
  • ABM, anti-ballistic missile
  • A/C, aircraft
  • ACDA, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency
  • ADCM, Acting Deputy Chief of Mission
  • AEC, Atomic Energy Commission
  • AFL–CIO, American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations
  • AFRT, Armed Forces Radio and Television
  • AID, Agency for International Development
  • Amb, Ambassador
  • AMST, Advanced Medium STOL Aircraft
  • API, American Petroleum Institute
  • ARAMCO, Arabian-American Oil Company
  • ARMISH/MAAG, U.S. Army Mission in Iran/Military Assistance Advisory Group
  • ARN, see NEA/ARN
  • ASD/ISA, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
  • ASPR, Armed Services Procurement Regulation
  • ASW, anti-submarine warfare
  • AWACS, Airborne Warning and Control System
  • b/d, barrels per day
  • BP, British Petroleum
  • B/P, balance of payments
  • BPC, Basra Petroleum Company
  • BPD, barrels per day
  • BPI, Ba’ath Party of Iraq
  • BSO, Black September Organization
  • CAB, Civil Aeronautics Board
  • CCC, Commodity Credit Corporation
  • CEA, Council of Economic Advisers
  • CENTO, Central Treaty Organization
  • CFP, Compagnie Française des Petroles
  • CIA, Central Intelligence Agency
  • CIEP, Council on International Economic Policy
  • CINCEUR, Commander in Chief, European Command
  • CINCPAC, Commander in Chief, Pacific Command
  • CINCUSNAVEUR, Commander in Chief, U.S. Naval Forces, Europe
  • CIS, Confederation of Iranian Students
  • CJCS, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • CNO, Chief of Naval Operations
  • COB, close of business
  • ConGen, Consul General
  • COMECON, Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
  • COMIDEASTFOR, Commander, Middle East Forces
  • COMINT, communications intelligence
  • Cons, Consulate
  • COS, Chief of Station
  • CPI, Communist Party in Iraq
  • D, Office of the Deputy Secretary of State
  • DCI, Director of Central Intelligence
  • DCM, Deputy Chief of Misson
  • DDCI, Deputy Director of Central Intelligence
  • DDO, Deputy Director for Operations, Central Intelligence Agency
  • DefRepIran, Defense Representative, Iran
  • Dept, Department of State
  • Deptel, Department of State telegram
  • Depto, series indicator for telegrams from the Deputy Secretary of State
  • DIA, Defense Intelligence Agency
  • DirGen, Director General
  • dissem, dissemination
  • DOD, Department of Defense
  • DOD/ISA, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
  • DOD/ISA/NESA, Office of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, International Security Affairs, Department of Defense
  • DOS, Department of State
  • DSAA, Defense Security Assistance Agency
  • E, Office of the Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs
  • EB, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, Department of State
  • EB/ORF/FSE, Division of Fuels and Energy, Office of International Resources and Food Policy, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, Department of State
  • ECM, electronic countermeasure
  • ELINT, electronic intelligence
  • Emb, Embassy
  • EmbOff, Embassy officer
  • Embtel, Embassy telegram
  • ERDA, Energy Research and Development Agency
  • Exdis, exclusive distribution (acronym indicating extremely limited distribution or dissemination)
  • EXIM, Export-Import Bank
  • FAA, Foreign Assistance Act
  • FAO, Food and Agriculture Organization (UN)
  • FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • FBIS, Foreign Broadcast Information Service
  • FEA, Federal Energy Administration
  • FMS, foreign military sales
  • FNLA, National Liberation Front of Angola
  • FNU, first name unknown
  • FonMin, Foreign Minister; Foreign Ministry
  • FonOff, Foreign Office
  • ForMin, Foreign Minister; Foreign Ministry
  • FRG, Federal Republic of Germany
  • FY, fiscal year
  • GAO, General Accounting Office
  • GDP, gross domestic product
  • GNP, gross national product
  • GOB, Government of Bahrain
  • GOI, Government of Iran
  • GOI, Government of Iraq
  • GSP, Generalized System of Preferences
  • HAK, Henry A. Kissingrer
  • Hakto, series indicator for telegrams from Henry Kissinger
  • Hawk, surface-to-air guided missile
  • HFAC, House Foreign Affairs Committee
  • HIM, His Imperial Majesty
  • HK, Henry Kissinger
  • IAS, Iran-America Society
  • Ibex, U.S.-Iranian project to build observation and listening posts in Iran
  • IBRD, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank)
  • ICCS, International Commission for Control and Supervision (Vietnam)
  • ICHR, Iranian Committee on Human Rights
  • ICP, Iraqi Communist Party
  • ID, Iraqi dinar
  • IG, Inspector General
  • IIA, Imperial Iranian Army
  • IIAF, Imperial Iranian Air Force
  • IIF, Imperial Iranian Forces
  • IIGF, Imperial Iranian Ground Forces
  • IIN, Imperial Iranian Navy
  • ILO, International Labor Organization
  • IMF, International Monetary Fund
  • inf, infantry
  • INOC, Iraq National Oil Company
  • INR, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State
  • INR/RNA, Office of Research and Analysis for Near East and South Asia, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State
  • IO, Bureau of International Organization Affairs, Department of State
  • IPC, Iraq Petroleum Company
  • IRN, see NEA/IRN
  • IRS, Internal Revenue Service
  • ISA, Iranian Students Association
  • ISA, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
  • ITAR, International Traffic in Arms Regulation
  • J–2, Directorate for Intelligence, Joint Staff
  • JCS, Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • KDP, Kurdish Democratic Party
  • LDC, less developed country
  • Limdis, limited distribution
  • L/NEA, Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser for Near East Affairs
  • LNG, liquefied natural gas
  • L/O, Letter of Offer
  • LOA, Letter of Agreement; Letter of Acceptance
  • LTG, Lieutenant General
  • MAAG, Military Assistance Advisory Group
  • MAP, Military Assistance Program
  • MBFR, Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions
  • ME, Middle East
  • memcon, memorandum of conversation
  • MFA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  • MFN, most favored nation
  • MG, Major General
  • MIDEASTFOR, Middle East Force
  • MilAtt, Military Attaché
  • MinDef, Minister of Defense; Ministry of Defense
  • MLG, Military Liaison Group
  • MPLA, People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola
  • MW, megawatts
  • NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  • NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization
  • NEA, Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State
  • NEA/ARN, Office of Lebanon, Jordan, Syrian Arab Republic, and Iraq Affairs, Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State
  • NEA/ARP, Office of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, and Aden Affairs, Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State
  • NEA/IRN, Office of Iranian Affairs, Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State
  • NEA/NE, Office of Near Eastern Affairs, Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State
  • NEA/NR, Office of Near Eastern, South Asian Regional Affairs, Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State
  • NEA/RA, Office of Regional Affairs, Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State
  • NFZ, nuclear-free-zone
  • NIC, National Intelligence Council
  • NIE, National Intelligence Estimate
  • NIOC, National Iranian Oil Company
  • NIRT, National Iranian Radio and Television
  • Nodis, no distribution
  • Noforn, no foreign dissemination
  • Notal, not to all addresses
  • NPT, Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
  • NRM, National Resistance Movement (Kurdish)
  • NSA, National Security Agency
  • NSAM, National Security Action Memorandum
  • NSC, National Security Council
  • NSDM, National Security Decision Memorandum
  • NSSM, National Security Study Memorandum
  • OAPEC, Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries
  • OASD/ISA, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
  • OBE, overtaken by events
  • OCI, Office of Current Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency
  • ODDI, Office of the Deputy Director of Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency
  • OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
  • OER, Office of Economic Research, Central Intelligence Agency
  • OES, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Department of State
  • OMB, Office of Management and Budget
  • ONE, Office of National Estimates, Central Intelligence Agency
  • OPEC, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
  • OSD, Office of the Secretary of Defense
  • P, Bureau of Public Affairs, Department of State
  • P&A, price and availability
  • PA&E, Office of Program Analysis and Evaluation, Department of Defense
  • PDRY, People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen)
  • Peace Shield, radar and air defense system
  • PFLO, Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman
  • PFLOAG, Popular Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arab Gulf
  • PM, Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs, Department of State
  • PM, Prime Minister
  • PM/MAS, Office of Military Assistance and Sales, Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs, Department of State
  • PNE, peaceful nuclear explosion
  • PNG, persona non grata
  • POLAD, Political Adviser
  • PolCouns, Political Counselor
  • PR, public relations
  • PRC, People’s Republic of China
  • PriMin, Prime Minister
  • PRSY, People’s Republic of Southern Yemen
  • RADM, Rear Admiral
  • RCC, Revolutionary Command Council, Ba’athist Government in Iraq
  • R&D, research and development
  • ref, reference
  • reftel, reference telegram
  • Rep, Representative
  • RG, Record Group
  • RNA, see INR/RNA
  • rpt, repeat
  • S, Office of the Secretary of State
  • SALT, Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
  • SAM, surface to air missile
  • SAMAA, Special Assistant for Military Assistance Affairs, Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • SAPRC, Security Assistance Program Review Committee
  • SAVAK, Iranian National Bureau of Security and Intelligence (Sazman-i Ittili’at va Amniyat-i Kishvar in Farsi)
  • SC, Security Council (UN)
  • SCA, Bureau of Security and Consular Affairs, Department of State
  • Scud, tactical ballistic missile
  • SEATO, Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
  • SecDef, Secretary of Defense
  • Secto, series indicator for telegrams from the Secretary of State
  • Secy, Secretary of State
  • Seek Sentry, Iranian air defense program of ground-based, long-range surveillance radars
  • Seek Switch, program to modernize the Iranian military and civilian telecommunications system
  • SFRC, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
  • SNM, special nuclear material
  • Sov, Soviet
  • SRG, Senior Review Group
  • S/S, Executive Secretariat, Department of State
  • Stadis, Department of State distribution only
  • T, Office of the Under Secretary of State for Security Assistance
  • TAFT, Technical Assistance Field Team
  • Tohak, series indicator for telegrams to Henry Kissinger
  • Tosec, series indicator for telegrams to the Secretary of State
  • TOW, tube-launched, optically-tracked, wire-guided missile
  • U, Office of the Under Secretary of State
  • UAE, United Arab Emirates
  • UAR, United Arab Republic
  • UEA, Uranium Enrichment Associates
  • UK, United Kingdom
  • UN, United Nations
  • UNEF, United Nations Emergency Force
  • UNGA, United Nations General Assembly
  • UNHCR, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
  • UNITA, National Union for the Total Independence of Angola
  • UNSC, United Nations Security Council
  • UnSec, Under Secretary
  • UNSYG, United Nations Secretary General
  • USAF, United States Air Force
  • USC, Under Secretaries Committee
  • USCINCEUR, Commander in Chief, United States European Command
  • USG, United States Government
  • USIA, United States Information Agency
  • USIB, United States Intelligence Board
  • USINT, United States Interests Section, Baghdad, Iraq
  • USIS, United States Information Service
  • USN, United States Navy
  • USSR, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
  • USUN, United States Mission to the United Nations
  • VIP(s), very important person(s)
  • VP, Vice President
  • WE, Western Europe
  • WFC, World Food Conference
  • YAR, Yemen Arab Republic