Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 380 › Conversation 380-022
Nixon alone in his EOB office on Richard Helms and Ambassadorship to Iran
Thursday, December 28, 1972 · 12:39 PM–2:20 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 4 min
AI Summary
President Nixon dictated a memorandum outlining instructions for CIA Director Richard Helms regarding his upcoming transition to the ambassadorship in Iran. The President tasked Helms with conducting a comprehensive analysis of Middle Eastern political stability and the regional oil situation as it pertains to the energy security of the United States, Europe, and Japan. Additionally, the directive addressed Helms' recent communications with John Connally concerning Middle Eastern diplomatic travel and established the framework for their future consultations on these critical national security matters.
- Richard Helms
- Ambassadorship to Iran
- Energy Crisis
- Middle East Oil
- National Security
- Foreign Policy
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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NARA Description
On December 28, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:39 pm and 2:20 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 380-022 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 380-22
Date: December 28, 1972
Time: Unknown between 12:39 pm and 2:20 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President dictated a memorandum for Richard M. Helms.
The President’s telephone call to Helm’s, December 26, 1972
-Helms’ schedule
-Trip to Mexico
-Purpose
-Helms’s possible conversation with John B. Connally
-Connally’s trip to Saudi Arabia and Algeria
Richard M. Helms’ ambassadorship to Iran
-Assignment
-Analysis of Middle East oil situation
-US and European companies’ relations with governments
-Middle East governments’ stability
-Energy crisis
-Duration
-Western Europe, Japan, US
**************************************************************************
[Previous National Security (B) withdrawal reviewed under MDR guidelines case number
LPRN-T-MDR-2014-019. Segment declassified on 09/12/2018. Archivist: MM]
[National Security]
[380-022-w001]
[Duration: 23s]
Richard M. Helms’ ambassadorship to Iran
-Mohammed Mossadegh
-Mohammed Reza Pahlavi [?]
**************************************************************************
-32-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 380-22 (cont’d)
Richard M. Helms’ ambassadorship to Iran
-Assignment
-Study
-Timing
-Visit to Middle East countries
-Middle East governments’ stability
-US-Middle East relations
-The President’s possible conversation with Helms
-Timing
New Year’s greetingAlso recorded on December 28, 1972
- 035-027 12:39 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:39 pm and 2:26 pm.
- 380-014 12:39 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:39 pm and 2:20 pm.
- 380-015 12:39 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:39 pm and 2:20 pm.
- 380-016 12:39 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:39 pm and 2:20 pm.
- 380-017 12:39 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:39 pm and 2:20 pm.
- 380-018 12:39 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:39 pm and 2:20 pm.
- 380-019 12:39 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:39 pm and 2:20 pm.
- 380-020 12:39 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:39 pm and 2:20 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 380-022, December 28, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/380-022 (accessed October 11, 2026).