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Coll 28/67 ‘Persia. Annual Reports, 1932–’ [‎100r] (199/644)

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The record is made up of 1 file (320 folios). It was created in 6 Dec 1933-27 Mar 1947. 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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[115391 b 2
2. The chief event of the year from the Persian point of view was the Shah’s
visit to Turkey in June and July. In September and October also a number of
prominent litterateurs and men of science from all parts of the world visited
Persia in connexion with the Firdausi millenary celebrations. In November the
Crown Prince of Sweden visited Tehran, Isfahan and other centres, accompanied
by the Crown Princess.
3. At the close of the year the Persian Government found themselves
involved in difficulties with their immediate neighbours; Iraq having appealed to
the League of Nations over the Perso-Iraq frontier dispute, and trouble of a
somewhat serious nature having arisen on the Afghan frontier in connexion with
tribal affairs. They were also having difficulties with the tribes in Baluchistan.
4. Internally no special feature is noticeable. The work on the Trans-
Persian Railway continues as actively as ever and many new factories are being
built. The condition of the masses of the population seems to vary inversely with
these modern developments.
II.— Foreign Relations.
(A) United Kingdom and India.
(1) General Treaty Negotiations.
5. No progress was made in the negotiations during the year.
6. In January His Majesty’s Minister received his detailed instructions and
a few days later he reported that the Minister for Foreign Affairs stated that he
was working “two or three hours a day’’ on the treaty. After a month had
passed His Majesty’s Minister again enquired the position and was informed by
Kazemi that he was still at work. Sir R. Hoare considered, and the Foreign
Office concurred, that it would be bad tactics to show any undue eagerness, so
matters were allowed to stand.
7. Meanwhile His Majesty’s Minister was becoming more and more
convinced that until the ghost of Persian pretensions to Bahrein was laid, our
position would become increasingly difficult. Persian activity in the Gulf was
growing, and in the circumstances he felt that he should be instructed to make
it clear to the Persian Government that, if they wished to resume the negotiations,
they must furnish a formal assurance that they would act in the spirit of the
status quo agreement. If no such assurance were given, His Majesty’s Govern
ment in the United Kingdom would consider the negotiations abandoned and
would take such steps as they thought fit to safeguard their interests. In the
last resort this policy would mean the reference of the Bahrein question to the
League of Nations.
8. The Foreign Office, who were of the opinion that these proposals involved
a reversal of the policy of His Majesty’s Government, requested Sir R. Hoare to
state his views at greater length. In his despatch No. 176 of the 7th April,
Sir R. Hoare pointed out in reply that, in spite of successive assurances by the
Shah that he desired friendly relations with His Majesty’s Government, relations
were steadily deteriorating and no progress was being made in the treaty negotia
tions. In these circumstances Sir R. Hoare felt that there was no hope of
obtaining a treaty until the Shah was forced to believe that His Majesty's
Government were "determined to settle the Bahrein question once and for all.
With the situation as it then was His Majesty’s Minister could see no certainty
of avoiding a conflict occasioned either by the necessity of protecting Arab
interests or by the Shah’s hypersensitiveness, particularly to foreign press
articles. In these circumstances Sir R. Hoare considered that our interests might
lie in choosing a suitable occasion for presenting an ‘ £ ultimatum ’ ’ on the lines
indicated in the previous paragraph.
9. His Majesty’s Minister later submitted a draft of the note he suggested
should be addressed to the Persian Government. In this he sketched the events
of the previous eighteen months, emphasised the disquiet of His Majesty’s
Government and embodied the “ultimatum.’’

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Content

Annual reports for Persia [Iran] produced by staff at the British Legation in Tehran. The reports were sent to the Foreign Office by HM’s Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary A diplomatic representative who ranks below an ambassador. The term can be shortened to 'envoy'. at Tehran (from 1943, Ambassador to Iran). The reports cover the following years: 1932 (ff 2-50); 1933 (ff 51-98); 1934 (ff 99-128); 1935 (ff 129-165); 1936 (ff 166-195); 1937 (ff 196-227); 1938 (ff 228-249); 1939 (ff 250-251); 1940 (ff 252-257); 1941 (ff 258-266); 1942 (ff 267-277); 1943 (ff 278-289); 1944 (ff 290-306); 1945 (ff 307-317); 1946 (ff 318-320).

The reports for 1932 to 1938 are comprehensive in nature (each containing their own table of contents), and cover: an introductory statement on affairs in Persia, with a focus on the Shah’s programme of modernisation across the country; an overview of foreign relations between Persia and other nations, including with the United Kingdom, British India, and Iraq; Persia’s involvement in international conventions and agreements, for example the League of Nations and the Slave Traffic Convention; British interests in or associated with Persia, including Bahrain and Bahrainis resident in Persia, the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. at Bushire, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, Imperial Bank of Persia, and the Imperial and International Communications Company; political affairs in Persia, including court and officials, majlis, tribes and security; economic affairs in Persia (government finances and budgets, trade, industry, agriculture, opium production); communications (aviation, railways, roads); consular matters; military matters (army, navy, air force).

Reports from 1939 to 1946 are briefer in nature, Reports from 1941 onwards focusing on the Anglo-Soviet occupation of Persia, and the role of United States advisors in the Persian Government’s administration.

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 (320 folios)
Arrangement

The file’s reports are arranged in chronological order from the front to the rear of the file. Each report for the years 1932-1938 begins with a table of contents referring to that report’s own printed pagination sequence.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 321; 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 file contains one foliation anomaly, f 308A

Pagination: Each of the reports included in the file has its own printed pagination system, commencing at 1 on the first page of the report.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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Coll 28/67 ‘Persia. Annual Reports, 1932–’ [‎100r] (199/644), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3472A, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100056661166.0x0000c8> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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