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Coll 28/67 ‘Persia. Annual Reports, 1932–’ [257r] (513/644)
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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
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hostile to the Shah and to the British, and to bring into office a Government which
would oppose the interests of His Majesty’s Government with the backing of
Germany, and perhaps of Russia. Anything, therefore, that can be done to j
diminish the general hostility with which we are regarded is worth doing.
26. There was no clear indication, by the end of the year, whether Iran
would become involved in the war or not, and the task of His Majesty s Govern
ment in deciding upon a policy was complicated by our not knowing for certain
whether Russia and Germany were working together or against each other in
regard to Iran. The attitude to be adopted in the case of an attack on Iran b\
the Soviet Union had been considered early in the year, in connexion with the
suggestion of the Minister of War (paragraph 13) that His Majesty s Govern
ment and the Iranian Government should co-ordinate their plans against the
Soviet Union. After the matter had been discussed between the Foreign Office
and the Service Departments, and had been before the War Oabinet, a reply was
sent to His Majesty’s Minister from which this passage may be quoted
££ Generally speaking, the conclusion has been reached that it is not
necessary or desirable at the present time to make any response to this
approach. In the first place, it is probably better that the Iranian Govern
ment should be forced to come more into the open if they want oui aid and
assistance. They are likely to be difficult and unsatisfactory allies in an\
case, and if there is to be co-operation between us we want it to be evident
that’ it is thev who need it as much as, and even more than, we do. In the
second place,’ our ability to assist them against a Soviet attack has been
shown by our discussions to be much where it was. . . . That is to say. while
we could, and no doubt should, defend the oil-fields and the Iraqi border, and
mmht be able to send a certain number of air units to the north of Iraq to
assist in repelling the Soviet invasion (a task which might include such
counter-measures as the bombing of Baku, &c.), we could not, if the^ aggres
sion took place now, send any land troops to I ehran or the north.
27. In May His Majesty’s Ambassador in Iraq suggested that the time had
come to consider the despatch of British troops in all its aspects. The piimai\
reason, he stated, would be the defence of Iraq, and the most obvious source ot
aggression would be Russia acting through Iran. He foresaw the possibility
that the despatch of British reinforcements might be used for hostile propaganda
in Russia Iran and elsewhere, but suggested that the then attitude of Russia
made the risk less than it might be later on. His Majesty's Minister commented
that, while he was sure that any move by His Majesty’s Government to occupy
the Iranian oil-fields or refineries would bring about a Russian occupation ot
the north of Iran, it was by no means certain that the mere arrival of British
troops in Iraq from Palestine (as opposed to the arrival of Indian troops at
Basra) would have the same effect, provided that they were not stationed in
frontier districts towards Iran, e.g., in Basra. To this and other telegrams m
the same strain the Foreign Office replied that His Majesty s Government fully
realised the danger of a Soviet counter-move and would certainly do nothing
unless they were prepared to face the prospect of such a counter-move At that
moment plans existed for the despatch of land forces to safeguard British
interests in the oil-fields area should need arise, but m fact no troops were sent
to Iraq The possibility of an attack on the oil-fields and Abadan m case ot
hostilities between His Majesty’s Government and the Soviet Union was studied,
and plans for defence by British aircraft were drawn up, while rifles for the
arming of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company personnel in certain eventualities were
moved”down from Habbaniyah to Basra. All this is unknown to the Iranian
authorities, who have limited themselves to measures designed to prevent sabotage
in the oil area to a black-out, and to anti-aircraft preparations of no value.
28 The British community in Iran realise that what happens m and to
Iran will depend very little on Iran herself. They have aii evacuation scheme
ready knowing that out of vanity and reluctance to offend Germany the Iranian
Government will not take any serious measures against the Iifth Column until
it is too late, and that, if Russia should send troops into Iran, the Iranian army
and people would offer no effective resistance even if the Shah was as populai a &
he is in fact detested.
About this item
- 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 View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/3472A
- Title
- Coll 28/67 ‘Persia. Annual Reports, 1932–’
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:91r, 92r:308v, 308ar:308av, 309r:320v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence