Coll 28/97(1) ‘Persia. Diaries. Tehran Intelligence Summaries.’ [‎56v] (112/807)

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5. Civil Administration.
Reference Intelligence Summary No. 24 (current), paragraph 3 .
(i) The Ministry of the Interior has been divided into four bureaux as
follows : —
(a) The Central Bureau (personnel, finance, tourists, elections and archives).
(b) The Inspection Bureau (technical, financial and administrative sections).
(c) The Municipal Bureau (municipalities).
(d) The General Administrative Bureau (tribal settlement, civil status,
nationality and political affairs).
(ii) In the official text of the new law, the following changes have been made
in the nomenclature of officials :—
For “ Farmanguzar'' read “ Bakhshdar.”
For “ Balukdar " read “ Dehdar."
6 . Tribal.
BaJimai .—Reference Intelligence Summary No. 24 (current), paragraph 9 (v).
There is no change in the situation. The following rumours are reported :—
(a) That the Bahmai have been joined by a few discontented Bakhtiari and
Mamasani.
(b) That the (Government forces number 8 , 000 , out of w T hich 3,000 are from the
6 th (Khuzistan) Division.
{c) That the Bahmai occasionally leave their stronghold on the Kuh-i-
Mungasht to raid and carry out night attacks. In one such night
attack on a military post, the Government forces are said to have
suffered thirty casualties.
(d) That the commander of the troops contemplates a siege of four months'
duration.
(e) That the military are employing emissaries to penetrate tribal territory
and try to underniine the loyalty of the tribesmen to their chiefs by
threats and promises.
7. Communications.
(a) Railways .—The Iranian Government has bought a number of oil-driven
rail auto-cars. An illustration of one of these appeared in the press. The car
is said to carry fifty passengers and to be capable of drawing another coach
containing forty-five passengers.
(b) Roads .—That hardy annual the Bushire-Firuzabad-Shiraz road project
has again cropped up. As has been reported so often, 1 million rials have been
voted and “work is to start shortly.”
8 . Wireless Telegraphy.
Reference Intelligence Summary No. 23 (current), paragraph 9 (ii), the
wireless station at Kermanshah is worked by military personnel and is, at present,
being used exclusively for military purposes.
The transmitters are of medium (600-1,000 metres) wave-length. The
reception at the oil-field at Naft Shah was tolerably good and it is thought that
the station would be effective up to a radius of 100 miles.
The reception at Abadan was poor, being classified as “ strength 3 .”
9. Industry.
According to fairly reliable reports all is not well with the tobacco monopoly.
Some of the stocks have deteriorated, packing materials are exhausted, spare
parts for the machinery are urgently needed and the staff have made complaints
about the delay in payment of their salaries.
A later report—little more than a rumour as yet—says that Dr. Friedlieb, the
director, has been placed under arrest.