Active Archer—Code name for the CIA’s program to disrupt Iranian enrichment operations.
Alut, Iran—Small Kurdish village near the border with Iraq.
AOR—Area of Responsibility, designated geography for a military operation.
Arak, Iran—A city in central Iran. Location of a secret Iranian heavy-water reactor that can be used for enriching uranium to weapons grade.
Baradar—Farsi for “brother,” a term of comradery.
Baramar—The Dubai-based export-import company that provides centrifuge equipment to the Iranians.
CP—Command Post, term used by the US Army and Air Force to designate a deployed headquarters.
CPT—CIA Counterproliferation Division, charged with stopping the spread of nuclear weapons.
DEVGRU—Naval Special Warfare Development Group, shorthand for the tier one commandos of SEAL Team Six.
DGSE—French General Directorate for External Security, subordinate to the Ministry of the Defense. Responsible for military, strategic, and signals intelligence. Also responsible for counterespionage outside of national borders.
Echelon—NSA-administered voice-intelligence intercepts of foreign telecom companies.
Elahieh, Iran—Upscale neighborhood in Tehran’s District One on the northern edge of the city. The Elahieh neighborhood houses many foreign embassies, including Russia’s.
Erzurum, Turkey—City in southeastern Turkey, high in the mountains of Anatolia. Easternmost airport for access to Iran.
FOB—Forward Operating Base, a remote US military outpost.
FSB—Russian Ministry of State Security, heir to the KGB, based in Lubyanka Square, Moscow.
HQS—Agency shorthand for CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.
IAEA—International Atomic Energy Association. A UN-chartered organization that monitors the development of nuclear materials and compliance to the NPT.
IFF—Identification Friend or Foe, an automated radio interrogation system used to identify an aircraft in flight.
IG—CIA Inspector General, charged with ensuring the lawfulness of Agency operations.
Interpol—International crime-fighting organization with more than a hundred member countries and a recognized UN charter. Headquartered in Lyon, France, Interpol maintains database submissions from member countries for tracking across borders. These submissions include fingerprints, DNA samples, travel documents, and face photos. Interpol maintains an encrypted network called I-24/7 that provides access to databases. Many member countries can access the I-24/7 system at airports and border-access points. Interpol can issue a Red Notice, which is equivalent to an international arrest warrant with the expectation of extradition.
IR—Infrared.
IRGC—Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. IRGC was formed by the Ayatollah Khomeini as a parallel military force, since the shah’s military could not be trusted. IRGC has since evolved into all service branches—Air Defense, Navy, Air Force, Army. The IRGC has been officially designated as a terrorist organization since October 2018 by Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and since April 15, 2019, by the United States.
ISIL—Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as ISIS. Sunni Muslim revolutionary army operating in northern Iraq and Syria.
ISR—Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance.
Jon—A Farsi term of endearment appended to a given name, equivalent to “dear” in English.
Karzkak—Turkish oil company.
M-4—Standard assault rifle for the US military, 7.62mm.
Mahdi—The messiah; some devout Shias believe the Mahdi is the Twelfth Imam hiding in the Occultation since the year 872. At the end of days, the Mahdi will reappear and institute a new world, per Allah’s will.
MOIS—Ministry of Information and Security, the Iranian intelligence service.
MRAP—Large armored multipurpose Army combat vehicle. MRAP stands for Mine Ready, Ambush Protected. The MRAP was designed and built partially in response to the vulnerabilities of Humvees to IEDs in Iraq.
Natanz, Iran—A city in northern Iran. Location of a deep underground Iranian enrichment facility exposed by the CIA in the early 2000s.
NCA—National Command Authority, composed of the most senior US officials who decide national security policy.
NPT—Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, administered by the UN.
OPSEC—Operational Security, procedures used by US national security organizations to keep general operating details confidential.
Pasdar—Farsi for a revolutionary of the Islamic Republic, guardian of the revolution, used as a term of respect.
Pasdaran—Farsi for Islamic Republic revolutionaries.
PDB—Presidential Daily Brief, the CIA’s rundown of intelligence delivered every morning to the president by a CIA briefer.
Quds Force—The elite arm of the IRGC charged with foreign intervention through paramilitary forces. Quds (or Qods) Force (meaning “Jerusalem Force,” after the Israeli holy city that they someday hope to conquer) is tasked with intelligence activities, unconventional warfare, and foreign operations.
Razi—Border town in western Iran, just east of Turkey.
ROE—Rules of Engagement, guidelines presented to combatants to establish offensive or defensive weapons use.
S-400—Advanced capable SAM exported by Russia to Iran. Considered a significant air defense threat by NATO forces.
SAC—Special Activities Center, the CIA paramilitary arm.
SAD—Special Activities Division, the name for the CIA’s paramilitary arm before it was renamed to SAC in 2018.
Salam—Arabic greeting, short form of Salam Aleikum, “Peace and God be with you.”
SAM—Surface-to-Air Missile.
Saqqez, Iran—City in central-western Iran, Kurdistan Province.
SCADA—Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, a computer system for gathering and analyzing real-time data. SCADA systems are used to monitor and control a plant or equipment in industries such as telecommunications, water and waste control, energy, oil and gas refining, and transportation.
SES—Senior Executive Services, the level of US civil service employees equivalent to military general or flag rank.
SIGINT—Signals Intelligence.
SOAR—Special Operations Aviation Regiment. US Army unit that operates with special operations teams. Their primary aircraft is the MH-60 Blackhawk helicopter, equipped for special operations missions.
Spetsnaz—Storied Russian special forces unit. Spetsnaz operatives can be assigned either to complement conventional military forces or to assist the SVR in covert activities.
Spetsnaz Alpha—Specially trained Spetsnaz special forces soldiers assigned to work undercover for the SVR. Plainclothes Spetsnaz Alpha soldiers were visibly active in the Russian invasion/annexation of the Crimea in 2014.
Mk 12 SPR—Lightweight enhanced 5.56mm sniper rifle in use by US Special Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
SSE—Sensitive Site Exploitation, a procedure to search for opportunistic intelligence in a physical location.
SVR—Russian foreign intelligence service, equivalent to the CIA, headquartered in Moscow’s Yasenevo District. S Directorate SVR officers operate in secret under nonofficial cover. PR Directorate SVR operatives operate in embassies under diplomatic cover.
Tabriz, Iran—City in northwestern Iran, home to Tabriz University. Site of the underground Tabriz enrichment facility.
Tor missile—NATO designated SA-14 SAM, used by Iran to shoot down the Ukrainian airliner in Tehran in January 2020.
Twelvers—Those who believe staunchly in the Mahdi, the Twelfth Imam in hiding.
Van—City in eastern Turkey near the Iranian border.
Y-12—An all-purpose twin-engine cargo aircraft manufactured by the Chinese company Harbin. It is used by the IRGC for various utility missions.
Yasenevo—Russian suburb of Moscow. Colloquial reference to SVR S Directorate.
Zaqqum—The tree that grows in the depths of hell, as noted in the Quran, fruited with the heads of demons. Used as the code name for the Iranian program to obtain sustainable nuclear-weapons capability.