Coll 28/97 ‘Persia. Diaries. Tehran Intelligence Summaries’ [‎206v] (412/749)

2
Internal Security.
South Persia.
7. A meeting will shortly take place near Qumisheh between Qavam-ul-Mulk,
Nasir Qashgai, Morteza Quli Bakhtiari and a representative of the huipi
Ilkhani The paramount chief of certain tribes in south west Iran. family of the Bakhtiari Khans. Nasir Qashgai wishes to invite Abdullah^
Khan Zarghampur Boir Ahmadi to attend, but this is not regarded with favoul
by the others, since Abdullah Khan has not yet made his peace officially with the
Government. The purpose of the meeting is to confirm the pact of friendship and
co-operation made between Qavam-ul-Mulk and the Qashgai brothers, which was
reported in Summary No. 26/44, paragraph 4, and to extend it to include the
Bakhtiari Khans. The meeting is no secret; the Governor-General of bars has
been invited to attend and the Shah is aware that it is to take place. It wi
almost certainly appear to the Russians as a step in a plan for the formation of a
pro-British bloc of tribes in South Persia. Resistance to subversive Tudeh and
; Russian influence is admittedly one of the objects of the originators, and for that
reason it is viewed with favour by property owners in the south.
Pars.
8 . Some activity is being shown by Government forces in the pursuit of
minor bandits. The'General Staff, in a communique to the press, report the
capture of five leaders of robber bands.
Bakhtiari.
9. Morteza Quli Khan, Governor of Bakhtiari, who was summoned to
Tehran to answer complaints made against him (see Summary No. 2/'/44>
paragraph 8 ), has now returned to Bakhtiari with the renewed confidence of the
| Government, though not of the Shah. He discomfited his enemies and made an
armistice with his quarrelsome relatives which is unlikely to develop into a
lasting peace. He has agreed to accept a representative of the rk al branch of the
family, the Haji Ilkhani The paramount chief of certain tribes in south west Iran. , as a subordinate associate in the Government of the
tribe. Dissension is, however, likely to break out again unless the Government
comes to a decision on the matter of claims the Khans have for the restitution of,
or compensation for, lands exchanged or sold under compulsion on the orders of
Reza Shah. The fate of these lands is not of great interest to the Bakhtiari
tribesmen, but as long as the Khans are dissatisfied with the Government or with
each other there is the danger of their stirring up the tribes to disorder. The
Shah, perhaps mindful of the part the Bakhtiari tribe has played in the past
against would-be dictatorial Shahs, is reported to have been none too content when
he heard that the Khans had come to an agreement among themselves and that
Morteza Quli Khan had rather strengthened his position. In order to limit his
i sphere of influence, it has been suggested that the Chahar Lang tribes should be
separated from the Haft Lang and given a separate Governor. This proposal has
the support of some of the Chahar Lang Khans and of the General Staff.
Khuzestan.
10. The Persian General Staff reports that 850 rifles had been collected
from the Mianab Arabs and about twenty of the sheikhs had been arrested. From
the Chananeh some 300 rifles had been collected with little or no opposition. (See
Summary No. 29/44. paragraph 9.)
Russian Affairs.
11 . His Majesty’s Consul-General in Azerbaijan reports that, in spite of
all their efforts to ingratiate themselves with the populace, the Russians are still
regarded with mistrust and suspicion by the great majority of the Moslems of
Azerbaijan. Soviet officials have not attempted to conceal their annoyance at the
'rejection by the Majlis of Pishavari’s credentials (see Summary No. 28/44,
paragraph 17) and have taken the Governor-General roundly to task. Soviet
agents in Tabriz are now attempting to work up demonstrations, and perhaps
even a general strike, in the hope of stampeding the Government'into obliging the
Majlis to revise its decision.
12. After much discussion between the Persian Government and the Soviet
Embassy in Tehran, the Russians have now agreed that Persian forces in
Azerbaijan may have liberty of action to suppress disorder, but they have
stipulated that one garrison may not be reinforced from another, nor may