Coll 28/121 ‘Persia. Bandar Abbas Consulate Diaries.’ [‎216r] (432/439)

Central Government on January 24th
i,partial Lar to he abolished throughout Khuzistan
as from January 25th, except in the oil field areas and
Abadan. I- these latter the curfew to be abolished on
the same date, and police to take the place of military
guards where possible and desirable. *7he Govern^r-
v neral agreed to these measures on the understanding
that he would retain the right to re-impose fnartial
law at his discretion,., and this requirement was met.
An appreciable number of kp#wn and suspected *
Russian agents made the journey to and from Tehran during
the month a d the military and police auth#»t£ies kept
a watchful eye on them. Those who could ^ot give a
satisfactory reason for their presence in Khuzistan or
whose personal documents were not in order -umbered
about thirty and these were expelled.
Tndeh Party activity vent on '’underground'' its
main protagonists being railway employees, m»st »f whom
come from the north. ""hese put a’Sout party propaganda
discreetly but ceaselessly under the direction of an
Armenian named ^isha?. a certain Tavalloli, described
as the administrative assistant of the rn udeh Party
arrived in Ahvaz in the middle of the month. He appears
t° be well financed. another active Tudeh agent, Ahmad
Amir oulta- i, has also arrived a->d has been holding
secret meetings in a house in Ahvaz.
The Army is net left out of the picture. In
Ahvaz garrison, Lt.Ool. Rashidi a'd six other officers,
alj. strongly pro-Russian, are busy and are in constant
touch with Novikov, the Russian Consul, An additional
factor worthy ol note is the presence in the garrison
of a number of corporals trained in ^abriz. nost of
these annear to be educated beyond their present junior
positions; they are in close contact with Rashidi, and,
as corporals in the Persian Army, not only are they all
powerful with the men, but also they have sole charge of
eirms, ammunition, and stores when the officers are off '
duty.
BCO T R)ivIT C.
general eco omic position is causing anxiety.
The lack ol rain has resulted in the price of wheat rising
-o. some eighty pe-ce-t a'aove the normal, and cattle are
bei-g sold the farmers as there is no pasture for them.
he townspeople fear incursions from the country districts
mu meagre resources 0 f tne peasantry are exhausted.
he Cover' or-General has been endeavouring to secure wheat
from other districts -K ut so far Trr ithout success as these
too are suffering from shortage, .fortunately rice is in
good supply a-'d moderately cheap
There is a project to join the rivers arun and
^ayandeh at a point in the Huhrang mountains in the
^akhtiari region.
Mr.Anthony Kden’s visit to Khuzistan, which
formed the subject of my ^elegram T 'o.5 of the 8th January
1948 anc? of my despatch T r o,7 (016/1/3/48; of the 8th
January, both addressed to the Foreign Office and copied
-0 xl.m. .jnbassador at Tehran, was generally welcomed as a
• ounter to Russian propaganda-. xir.IJden is believed by
/the people to be