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Coll 30/86(3) 'PERSIA. Relations with Iraq: Shatt-el-Arab. Establishment of an International Conservancy Board.' [‎255r] (524/674)

The record is made up of 1 file, in 2 parts (329 folios). It was created in 14 Apr 1937-5 Mar 1946. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: 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. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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(fU-/ ^
RTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJERT V’r GOVERNMEN^
PERSIA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
August 4, 1937.
Section 3-
[E 4510/73/34]
O i
■r ; ••
Copy No.
(No 262) ^ e y mour to ^ r ' Eden. — (Received August 4.)
Sir
r TTAVT 7 oi u . n i i Tehran, July 14, 1937.
HAVE already reported by telegram the main developments which have
occurred m connexion with the visit of the Iraqi Minister for Foreign Affairs to
fully”' Thel ' e are ’ h ° WeVer ’ SOme points which 11 ma y be useful to describe more
• V r telogram bi o. 69 of the 29th June was received before Dr. Naii’s
arrival. The Iraqi Minister happened to be dining with me on the 30th June
and 1 took the opportunity to explain to him the points which you had instructed
me to put to the Minister. Dr. Naji arrived on the evening of the 1st July
Engagements had been made for the greater part of the 2nd' July, but he was
able to receive me at 5 o clock on that day. Mr. Butler accompanied me and we
had a discussion of about an hour’s length with Dr. Naji and the Iraqi Minister.
3. It was clear at this interview that the Iraqi Minister for Foreign Affairs
was already satisfied that he could obtain a sufficient measure of agreement on
the points of the Shatt arrangement which were still outstanding, and that he
was determined to reach some settlement. During the course of the discussions
which had already taken place the Iranian representatives, as reported in my
telegram No. 85 of the 2nd July, put forward certain modifications of their
original proposals. Dr. Naji seemed to be impressed with the fact that their new
draft no longer specified that a year should be the Ci maximum ” period for the
conclusion of a conservancy agreement. He was also favourably impressed by
the proposal that permission given by one party to the treaty for visits of
warships of a third State should be considered as being given also by the other
party. This second suggestion appeared to me to be a reasonable one. As regards
the period for the negotiation of a conservancy convention, it was not apparent
to me that any substantial difference was made by prescribing a period of a year
for the negotiations as against prescribing a maximum period of a year. I
endeavoured to impress on the Iraqi Minister for Foreign Affairs the difficulties
which would almost certainly arise unless it was provided that the status quo as
regards the conservancy of the river should continue until the conclusion of a
new conservancy agreement. I also suggested to him that, since the Iranian
Government had already invited the Afghan Minister for Foreign Affairs to visit
Tehran for the signature of the Four-Power Pact and had thus to some extent
committed themselves to a successful conclusion of the negotiations, the Iraqi
delegation were in a strong position for obtaining their reasonable requirements.
At the close of our discussion, the Iraqi Minister for Foreign Affairs had decided
to endeavour to induce the Iranian Government to accept the terms of the Iraqi
draft letter, a copy of which was enclosed in Sir A. Clark Kerr’s despatch No. 245
of the 19th June, but which had not yet been put before the Iranian Government.
He seemed hopeful that the Iraqi draft might still be accepted. It was, I fear,
an error in tactics only to produce this draft after our interview.
4. During the next day negotiations between the Iranian and Iraqi delegates
continued, and Dr. Naji called on me on the morning of the 4th July to inform
me of the position which had then been reached. He said that the question of
the conservancy arrangement had caused great difficulty and that the discussions
had at times become somewhat heated. The Iranian Government were, of course,
suspicious that the Iraqi Government, if they could secure a provision tnat e
present conservancy arrangements should continue until a convention weie
concluded, would simply spin out the negotiations in the hope that the presen
arrangements would continue indefinitely. He had finally agreed to a P ]0 P° sa
which emanated, I believe, from the Iranian Minister at Bagdad, to /he enect
that the parties would conclude a conservancy agreement within one yeai, a ’ 1
they could not do so, the term might be prolonged by common agreemen , an a
[89 d—3]
i

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Content

The file concerns the possibility of establishing an international Conservancy Board for the Shatt-el-Arab (also referred to as the Shatt-al-Arab) between the governments of Iraq, Iran (also referred to as Persia), and the United Kingdom.

The board was intended to ensure the efficient maintenance and navigation of the Shatt-al-Arab waterway. The United Kingdom was involved because of the close interests of British shipping in the conservancy of the Shatt-al-Arab.

The papers cover: Perso-Iraqi frontier negotiations; drafts, signing (July 1937), and ratification (June 1938) of the Perso-Iraqi Frontier Treaty; Turkish approval of the frontier negotiations; the signing of the four power non-aggression pact between Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Afghanistan (the Saad-Abad [Saadabad] Pact), 1937; Abadan anchorage; Foreign Office memoranda and minutes of meetings concerning a convention for the conservancy of the Shatt-al-Arab; the question of British participation in the convention; lighting and buoying; the involvement of Sir John Ward [serving with the Iraqi Government] in the discussions; the opposition of the Iranian Government to British involvement; the involvement of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC); the Port of Basra (including Foreign Office memorandum, folios 77-83); the Rooka Channel; and renewed discussion of the issue in 1945, including the importance of the Shatt-al-Arab for tanker traffic to supply Britain's war needs in the Far East.

The main correspondents are the Foreign Office, the British Ambassador to Iraq, and HM Minister, Tehran.

The French language content of the file consists of approximately twenty folios of diplomatic correspondence and treaties.

There are no papers in the file dated 1941-44.

The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 file, in 2 parts (329 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: this file consists of two physical parts. The foliation sequence commences at the first folio of part one (ff 1-169) and terminates at the last folio of part two (ff 170-329); these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel; these numbers are printed, but are not circled. A previous foliation sequence, which is circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out. The front and back conservation covers (parts one and two), have not been foliated.

Written in
English in Latin script
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Coll 30/86(3) 'PERSIA. Relations with Iraq: Shatt-el-Arab. Establishment of an International Conservancy Board.' [‎255r] (524/674), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3804, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100047087711.0x00007d> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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