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Ext 5000/41(3) 'Persia - General Situation (Sept. & Oct. 1941)' [‎5r] (9/466)

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The record is made up of 1 file (231 folios). It was created in 17 Sep 1941-10 Nov 1941. 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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1
1
5./
MEMORAND UM.
UNREST IN KURDISTAN ; SITUATION DURING
SEPTEMBER 4th - 18th, 1941.
The first news to reach me that supporters of Sheikh
Mahmud had crossed the frontier and attacked Iranian military-
posts, was received hy me on the 4th September when General
Mogaddam asked me to call and see him. At his house he produced
a number of telegrams, one of which he shewed me; it was
apparently from the Commander of the Iranian Military post at
Durud (West of Sanandaj), who reported that large numbers
(about 1,000) of Iraqi Kurds had crossed the frontier and that
with about 1,000 Iranian Kurds who had rallied to their support,
they were attacking several military posts. The telegram mentioned
that the Iraqi attackers had called upon the Commander of the
Iranian garrison to surrender n in the name of the King of the
Kurds’*. General Moqaddam had taken a serious view of this report
and had asked me if I could bring the news to the notice of the
British Military Authorities here and of the British Embassy in
Bagdad.
2* In reply, I had said that I would at once report t©
General Slim what he had told me and I would telegraph t© Tehran
and Bagdad on the same subject. I added that I had no knowledge
of Sheikh Mahmud^ present whereabouts and that the last news that
I had heard of him described him to be living quietly in his
tribal district; I said that I therefore felt it difficult to
believe that Sheikh Mahmud could really be the cause of the
trouble which he had described.
3. Half an hour later I repeated to General Slim what
General Moqaddam had reported and how seriously the latter
regarded the matter. General Slim inrnediately sent Colonel
Roberts (G.S.0. I) to discuss the matter with General Moqaddam
and in view of the possible threat to the British garrison in
Sanandaj and to lines of communication additional mechanised
forces were sent into Kurdistan* 4
4. During the past fortnight British patrols have scoured
large areas in search of the Iraqi invaders (and of hidden
rifles) and I have been given to understand that practically
no sign of the Iraqi intruders has been seen. It seems probable,
therefore, that the telegram shewn to me by General Moqaddam was
based on inaccurate information and that Sheikh Mahmud’s
’’invasion” was nothing more serious than one of the occasioixal
frontier incidents which relieve the monotony of life among the
Kurds. It is, of course, possible that many Iraqi Kurds are still
in Iran living among their Iranian fellow-tribesmen and making
common cause with the latter in their revengeful attacks upon
Iranian garrisons; to distinguisn these Iraqis from their
Iranian Kurdish friends might well be difficult. Indeed, officers
returning from patrols in Kurdistan have stated that they saw
there no signs of disorder or of Iraqi Kurds. It would, however,
be dangerous to take for granted that Iranian Kurdistan is
clear of Iraqi Kurds because the latter were not in evidence
in large numbers. British Military patrols might easily have
been misled into taking the view that no Iraqi Kurds were in
certain areas because no strangers were seen and tne local
population gave assurances that no Iraqi Kurds were among . iem.

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Content

The file comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and notes, relating to situation in Persia [Iran] following the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in August 1941.

The discussion in the volume relates to the measures taken by Britain in consultation with the United States of America and the Soviet Union to form a regime in Persia that was aligned with British war aims. Correspondence discusses the need to remove the Shah who was 'hand in glove with the Germans' and implement some form of 'constitutional government' (see folio 232).

Further discussion surrounds the temporary nature of these measures and guarantees to restore full sovereignty to Iran after the war, in the same way as other 'small nations'.

Issues discussed include:

  • Raids by tribesmen
  • Price of kerosene and staples such as bread
  • Unrest in Kurdistan
  • Stipulations of the Persian constitution
  • The UK relationship with Moscow
  • Installation of the new Shah and arrangements for exile of the old Shah
  • British policy towards administration of government in Persia.

The file features the following principal correspondents: the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; the British Consul, Kermanshah (John Francis Robert Vaughan-Russell); HM Minister, Tehran (Sir Reader William Bullard).

Extent and format
1 file (231 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 233; 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 between ff 1-232; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

Written in
English in Latin script
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Ext 5000/41(3) 'Persia - General Situation (Sept. & Oct. 1941)' [‎5r] (9/466), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/553, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100056261461.0x00000a> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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