'File 29/6 British Relations with Khazal, Sheikh of Khorramshahr' [‎6r] (11/28)

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little reason to object to the “bodyguard” proposal outside the Sheikh’s
territories. Matters appeared to be fairly satisfactory when the Prime Minister
assured Sir P. Loraine on the 24th July that neither the Sheikh nor his interests
nor those of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company would be interfered wdth or
threatened in the slightest degree by the presence of this bodyguard, but
Sir P. Loraine placed little faith in these protestations and suggested that the
Sheikh should endeavour to secure them in writing. Meanwhile, he was
endeavouring to facilitate, so far as he could with discretion, the settlement of
the Sheikh's accounts with the Persian Government.
25. The Persian detachment proceeding from Isfahan was attacked and
routed by the Kuhgilu tribe at Shalil in Bakhtiari country and the remnant
forced to return to Isfahan. The Persian Government suspected that the
Bakhtiari and the Sheikh of Mohammerah were responsible and it was stated in
Tehran that His Majesty’s Government were deliberatelv encouraging the Sheikh
of Mohammerah and other southern chiefs to flout the Central Government with
the premeditated design of partitioning the country. Reza Khan, however,
decided to bide his time, and in a conversation with Sir P. Loraine at the end of
August gave a definite assurance that no action of his would endanger the Anglo-
Persian Oil Company’s interests; during this conversation Sir P. Loraine made
it plain that, while we had certain friendships with local chiefs, we had never
used them against the Central Government or otherwise than in the interests of
order and tranquillity.
26. Sir P. Loraine, in a despatch of the 4th September, 1922, examined the
whole question of our relations with the Sheikh in the light of existing circum
stances in Persia. The Persian Government now possessed an army with power
(always assuming the continued existence of Reza Khan) to break down resistance
in the outlying districts, and Sir P. Loraine’s view was that it would be preferable
to deal with a strong central authority (provided we were reasonably satisfied
as regards its chances of stability) rather than with a number of local rulers; this
would involve a loosening of our relations with such local rulers; in his opinion.
His Majesty’s Government should proceed very carefully for the time being and
be as strictly non-partisan as possible; we must not abandon existing friendships
but must attempt the delicate task of preparing the ground so as not to fall
between two stools in the event of a radical change in the Persian situation. On
the following day Sir P. Loraine sent a message to the Sheikh saying that he was
satisfied Reza Khan would not take violent action and that he had promised to do
nothing to endanger the common interests of Persia and Great Britain, that he
(Sir P. Loraine) trusted the Sheikh to remove any grounds for suspicion against
himself, and that he believed that there was a sound possibility of a good under
standing between the Sheikh and the Minister of War. whom Sir P. Loraine had
found trustworthy in his dealings. Lord Curzon informed Sir P. Loraine on
the 12th October that he concurred entirely in the general lines of the proposed
policy towards the Sheikh and that it could be pursued in reliance upon his
(Lord Curzon’s) support. And the Sheikh sent a reply to Sir P. Loraine
expressing his thanks for the latter’s friendly support and promising to use his
best endeavours to achieve the ends for which he was advised to work. W T ith the
removal of Zahir-ul-Mulk (Moayyed-ed-Dowleh), who had consistently opposed
^he Sheikh, and the appointment in his place as Governor of Arabistan of
Mushar-ed-Dowleh, with whom the Sheikh established good relations, and with
Reza Khan’s expressions of friendly sentiments towards the Sheikh, the eventful
year 1922 closed, as far as the latter's affairs were concerned, on a peaceful note;
but the financial question had not yet been definitely settled and Reza Khan was
not the man to forget a rebuff or to abandon his schemes for using the army to
effect the centralisation of Government control over the whole of Persia and the
Sheikh had little faith in the promises of Reza Khan.
Events in 1923.
27. The year 1923 was notable in the Sheikh’s affairs for the extension of the
central Government’s influence in the Bakhtiari country, for the apparent settle
ment of the Sheikh’s financial dispute and for the measures taken by His Majesty’s
Legation at Tehran to bring about good relations between him and Reza Khan
and to attempt to dissuade the latter from embarking upon a course of action
which would adversely affect British interests in Arabistan.
28. Details of the measures by which Reza Khan broke the power and pres
tige of the Bakhtiaris fall outside the scope of this memorandum, but the fact that
this was done had an important bearing on the position of the Sheikh of Moham
merah as it marked the crumbling of the barrier which had been for so long
[32557] c
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1922.
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1922.
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1922.
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1922.
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34/1922.
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1922.
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1922.
E13478/6/34/
1922.