'Persian Complaints of Smuggling in the Persian Gulf' [‎67r] (1/2)

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CONFIDENTIAL. fLcr-tde Htyfa ,
B 408
INDIA OFFICE The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. , - r/bo
’ P. oool/^o.
Persian Complaints of Smuggling in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
1. The relevancy to the Persian attitude towards the independence of
Bahrein and of the Trucial Sheikhdoms of recent Persian complaints about
the prevalence of smuggling to the South Persian coast from the Arab
littoral and from the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. islands makes it desirable briefly to set out
the recent history of this question, and the result of the investigation made
by His Majesty’s Government and the Government of India of the extent to
which assistance could be given to Persia in the suppression of the
•contraband traffic.
2 . On various occasions during the past year His Majesty’s represen- Teh. Desp. 137 ,
tatives at Tehran and the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. have emphasised that the problem J? l928,
is one of very serious dimensions, and the Belgian Administrator-General of Teh . te i
Customs informed Mr. Parr, in the summer of this year, in connection with -Ani?- 14 - ?. 4368/28.
the Tamb incident, that the Sheikhs on the Trucial coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. were all associated Teh tci. 236, Aug.8
with smuggling, and that “ his people are at their wits’ end how to cope 19JN ’ P ‘ t219 '
with it.” The serious development of the trade apparently dates from the
imposition by Persia in 1925 of a monopoly tax on all consignments of tea
and sugar imported from abroad. The situation is rendered difficult by the
fact that the Persian Government have practically no means of coping with it
on the sea, and very inadequate means for dealing with it on the coast, the
corruption of the local officials being a serious factor, while the fact that the
motor launches possessed by the Customs administration, although they
carry an automatic gun, are not armoured, places them at a disadvantage in
dealing with armed smugglers.
3. A formal request to His Majesty’s Government to assist them in
suppressing smuggling on the Gulf has not so far been made by the Persian
Government, and there is no special reason to suppose that such a request
is likely to be made in the course of the forthcoming negotiations. Active
steps, in fact, are apparently being taken by Persia to deal with the problem
in other ways, and there is reason to suppose that the Persian Government
contemplate the purchase of half a dozen Italian vessels, and the engagement
of an Italian Naval Officer for preventive service in the Gulf. As will be
seen from what follows, the matter has, however, been brought to the notice
of His Majesty’s representatives on various occasions, both by the Minister
of Court and by the Belgian Customs officials.
4. The importance to Persia of the suppression of the traffic was
mentioned to Sir Robert Clive by the Persian Minister of the Court at the
beginning of the present year, in connection with the Persian claims to
Bahrein, and Sir Robert Clive then suggested to His Majesty’s Government
that it might be possible to dispose directly of the Persian claims to the
island if it was possible to meet Persia in regard to the prevention of
smuggling from Bahrein to the Persian coast. On the 27th January
Sir Robert Clive reported an interview with the Administrator-General of Jan ‘ 16 ’
Customs, in which M. Molitor had stated that during the past year the
Persian Government had been hard hit by the smuggling conducted from
Koweit, Bahrein and Dabai, and that all the reports received from his p. 879 .
agents insisted that to take effective measures for the cessation of this
illicit traffic British co-operation was necessary. The only practical
suggestion which the Administrator-General could make, however, was
that the resident British authorities in the ports mentioned “ could help a
great deal by having ships’ manifests inspected, and the loading of the
cargoes supervised.”
5. In the light of the Minister’s representations, which assumed
particular importance in view of the desirability of disposing of the
question of Bahrein in direct negotiation with Persia rather than through
the League of Nations, the question of possible action to assist the Persian
Government was carefully investigated by the Admiralty and the Government
of India. The results, however, were not such as to show that any effective
assistance could conveniently be given to Persia, the objections to action being
partly of a general political character, and partly based on grounds of
practicability.
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