Coll 28/97 ‘Persia. Diaries. Tehran Intelligence Summaries’ [‎78r] (155/749)

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Und^ar S«creiary of State
for ro. cjgn Afiairs
Section 1.
Copy No»
114
R. Bullard to Mr. Eden.—(Received March 27.)
(No. 92.)
HIS Majesty’s representative presents his compliments to His Majesty’s
Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and has the honour to transmit
herewith a copy of Intelligence Summary No. 10. the 3rd to 9th March, 1943,
compiled by the military attache to this legation.
Tehran, March 9. 1943.
I :
Enclosure.
Military Attache's Intelligence Summary No. 10 for the Period
March 3-9, 1943.
(Secret.) *—
Persian A flairs.
Political.
THE Government has been making endeavours to secure the co-operation
of the Majlis. With the object of associating the Deputies with the Government
in devising measures to deal with the urgent problems of the day, notably food
supply, the control of prices and the welfare of the lower classes, separate
committees are to be formed for each of these problems composed of Deputies, w'ho
are to be chosen by the Majlis, and Ministers.
2. The press has been taking advantage of an unbridled freedom to attack
{the Allies in a number of vehemently outspoken articles. Scarcity, high prices,
inflation, lack of transport are all due to heavy consumption by the Allies, to
their large demands for currency and their monopoly of the means of transport.
Persia should have resisted to the last man. Annihilation in battle against the
Allies would have been better than slow annihilation by starvation. Persia had
fulfilled her undertakings under the treaty in placing her roads, her railways,
her harbours and communications at the disposal of the Allies. The Allies had
not kept their promises regarding economic assistance and were callously letting
\ Persia starve to death. The articles are usually so worded as to make it clear
that, of the Allies, Great Britain is the real criminal. Where anti-British
! sentiments were formerly to a large extent merely a fashion, they are now
founded on what is widely believed to be a genuine grievance, and Nazi
sympathisers have the pleasure of saying : “I told you so.” In addition to the
deliberate exacerbation of popular resentment against Great Britain, there is in
some papers a campaign against the propertied classes and hardly veiled
incitement to revolution.
3. While there is at present little love for Great Britain, there is an
| increasing number of Persians of the propertied classes and the intelligentsia
who from fear of Russian post-war policy would be glad to seek British support.
The motive in most cases may be selfish, but not in all. In the present atmos
phere. however, an open expression of belief in the virtue of closer association
with Great Britain and Persia requires more courage than is usually to be found.
Economic.
4. The bread situation in Tehran has very slightly eased, but the condition
of the people in the poorer quarters of the town is really bad. Deaths from
starvation are not uncommon and malnutrition is increasing the death-rate from
disease. In many of the towns failure of the bread supply is being staved off only
by the strenuous endeavours of the consular liaison officers. The Ministry of Food
and its American adviser are still being heavily criticised and attacked, and it
required some courage on the part of the veteran politician, Tadayyun. hitherto
Minister without Portfolio, to accept the Ministry of Food.