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Coll 30/86(2) 'Persia. Relations with Iraq. Shatt-el-Arab: Internationalisation of, and establishment of a Conservancy Board.' [‎124r] (258/944)

The record is made up of 1 volume (468 folios). It was created in 23 Dec 1935-22 Apr 1937. It was written in English and French. 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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finally dispose of all risk of Persia seeking (possibly
with success) to establish a claim to sovereignty ever the
while of the Hastern end of the Rooka channel (see .
paragraph 17 above). But it must be admitted that for
practical purposes the control of Iraq over the Shatt-el-
Arab might be much less with a general thalweg frontier
than with a thalweg frontipr ,-u
£ Aunuior opposite Abakan alone. n or the
present, therefore, it is unnecessary to consider this
solution m greater detail, although it may be necessary
to do so later should the question of tl»e Rooka channel
become acute.
26. a general thalweg frontier would, however,
have one important result which must not be over-looked.
An international conservancy Board with executive
functions may be desirable for the Shatt-el-Arab as at
present divided between Persia and Iraq, whether a
rectification takes place at Abadan or not. But if the
frontier were shifted to the centre of the* stream such
a Board would become inevitable. It,is in fact impossible
to imagine that the conservancy and navigation of the
river with such a frontier could be carried on for a day
without such joint control, although this would not of
course necessarily oblige Persia and Iraq to accept Brutish
participation^ Finally it is arguable that the offer
a thalweg frontier to the open sea would so change the
whole atmosphere, and create so favourable a disposition in
Persia, that it would offer far the best means of obtaining
the various Iraqi desiderata , such as full freedom of
passage, rights of dredging etc.

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Content

The file concerns negotiations over a convention to establish a 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 convention had two main objects: (1) to provide for the conservancy of the Shatt-al-Arab (i.e. its maintenance as a navigable waterway adequate to the needs of international shipping); (2) to control the navigation of the Shatt-al-Arab (i.e. to provide all shipping using the waterway with a uniform system of control, administration, and discipline in all matters necessary for safe and efficient shipping). The board was to consist of Iraq and Iran as the two riparian countries concerned, and the United Kingdom as the state owning over 90 per cent of the shipping using the river.

The papers cover: Perso-Iraqi negotiations; the question of British participation in the convention; the views of the Shah of Iran; negotiations over the frontier between Iraq and Iran; dredging dues; the navigation of the river; Persian violations of Iraqi territory; the anchorage at Abadan; draft agreements on the frontier between Iraq and Iran; the Persian refusal to allow Iraq any say over the waters (the Karun) that flowed into the Shatt-al-Arab (e.g. folios 262-264); the interests of the Government of Turkey in the issue; the view of the Foreign Office that a single authority was required in order to achieve unified control over the whole waterway system (folios 245-246); quarantine and police posts; and the Port of Basra (budget estimates, and dues and charges).

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 ten folios of diplomatic correspondence and treaty drafts.

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 volume (468 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 464; 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. The front and back covers, along with the two leading and two ending flyleaves have not been foliated. A previous foliation sequence, which is present between ff 291-464 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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Coll 30/86(2) 'Persia. Relations with Iraq. Shatt-el-Arab: Internationalisation of, and establishment of a Conservancy Board.' [‎124r] (258/944), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3803, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100048894116.0x00003b> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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