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File 200/1928 Pt 10 'Persia: Anglo-Persian Relations. Treaty Negotiations' [‎70r] (140/868)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (432 folios). It was created in 24 Jan 1934-5 Aug 1936. It was written in English. 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. .

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THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT
PERSIA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
March 4, 1935.
Section 4.
[E 1474/76/34] No. 1.
Mr. Knatchbull-Hugessen to Sir John Simon.—(Received March 4.)
(No. 54.)
Tehran, February 4, 1935.
BEFORE leaving for the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. on the 7th February, it may be
convenient if I attempt to summarise the state of our relations with the Persian
Government as I see it after the short experience of two months.
. When I arrived here negotiations on the outstanding questions comprised
within the scheme of a general treaty were in abeyance. On the Persian side the
position was governed by Bagher Khan Kazemi's condemnation of our earlier
proposals as “ not a fair deal " and consequently unacceptable. On the British
side it was felt with more or less certainty that negotiations on the old basis had
lapsed. Our general line of conduct was governed by the instructions contained
m your telegram No. 65 of the 4th July last “ to maintain the existing position
generally, and especially the status quo in the Gulf, and to refrain from any action
vis-d-vis the Persian Government likely to provoke a demand for our withdrawal
from Henjam and Basidu.’ Incidents at Tamb and the clumsy manner in which
the Persian Government expressed their objections to the employment as consuls
of officials from the Indian Political Service The branch of the British Government of India with responsibility for managing political relations between British-ruled India and its surrounding states, and by extension the Gulf, during the period 1937-47. had confirmed our view that general
negotiations were impossible in existing circumstances, and it had been pointed
out to the Persian Minister for Foreign Affairs in London in September that
so long as Anglo-Persian relations were at the mercy of Persian hyper-
sensitiveness, the misjudged activities of the Persian navy and the ill-timed
initiative over the consuls, all efforts to improve them were doomed to failure.
3. Thus the major issues were dormant. But on arrival I found a number
of smaller questions which, though individually of no primary importance,
combined to thicken an atmosphere which was already clouded. Only a few davs
before my arrival, Mr. and Mrs. Hart had been victims of an attack by brigands
on the Meshed-Zabul road. Shortly afterwards a Persian naval officer
gratuitously insulted the British merchant flag on the launch Garmsir off
Bushire. Trouble was brewing over the refusal of the Persian authorities at
Charbar to deal fairly with a number of British Indians who desired to renounce
their Persian in favour of their British nationality and leave Persia. Difficulties
were created at Henjam by a demand that certain boats kept by the Royal Indian
Marine should be registered and numbered. There was, in addition, a series of
smaller complaints against the Persian Government which it is unnecessary to
enumerate, but some of which have been on the tapis for a considerable time.
From the Persian side, besides a vague and hitherto undefined complaint on the
part of the Prime Minister of lack of support from His Majesty’s Government
in international affairs, my attention was drawn to the difficulties of the Persian
Government with the Baluchi tribes, whose resistance was said to be increased
by their alleged belief in British sympathy.
4. It seemed desirable to enlist the support of the Persian Government in
clearing away these outstanding questions. I was encouraged in this attempt
by the fact that not only the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister,
but the Shah himself, had declared to me their desire for an improvement in our
relations and a settlement of our difficulties. I have, therefore, at regular
intervals expressed the opinion that the first step is to settle these small but
troublesome, matters.
5. On the first occasion on which I saw the Minister for Foreign Affairs
after having presented my letters of credence, he spontaneously expressed the
regret of the Persian Government at the attack on Mr. and Mrs. Hart and
announced their willingness to pay compensation for the losses incurred. It is
true that these regrets were about a month late, but this may be attributed
charitably to his Excellency’s enforced absence on the Afghan frontier. It
[365 d—4]

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Content

This volume contains correspondence regarding wide-ranging negotiations that took place between the Persian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the British Legation in Tehran, the aim of which was the agreement of a bilateral treaty between the British and Persian [Iranian] governments in order to resolve a number of outstanding issues including the status of Basidu.

In addition to correspondence, the volume contains the following documents:

  • 'Speech by His Imperial Majesty the Shah at the Majlis on the Day of its Reopening for the Tenth term, Khordad 5, 1314 June 6,1935); (folio 34)
  • 'Memorandum by Mr. Eden upon a Conversation at Geneva on May 22, 1935, with M. Kazemi, the Persian Minister for Foreign Affairs, respecting Anglo-Persian relations' (folio 45)
  • 'Anglo-Persian Relations. Mr. Knatchbull-Hugessen's conversation with Persian Minister.' (folios 119-122)
  • 'Committee of Imperial Defence. Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East. Minutes of a meeting of the Sub-Committee held at No. 2, Whitehall Gardens, S.W.1. on Thursday, 25th October, 1934, at 3.30 p.m.' (folios 130-137)
  • 'Committee of Imperial Defence. Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East. Minutes of the Thirty-fifth meeting of the Sub-Committee, held at No. 2, Whitehall Gardens, S.W.1., on Friday, October 12th, 1934, at 3,30 p.m.' (folios 151-168)
  • 'Committee of Imperial Defence. Standing Ministerial Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East. Bahrein. Memorandum by Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.' (folio 169)
  • 'Committee of Imperial Defence. Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East. Minutes of a meeting of the Sub-Committee held in the Room of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, House of Commons, S.W.1, on Monday, June 11th, 1934, at 4.0 p.m.' (folios 261-276)
  • 'Relations with Persia. Admiralty Memorandum', 1934 (folios 284-289)
  • 'Committee of Imperial Defence. Standing Ministerial Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East. Persian Policy. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for India', 1934 (folios 290-291)
  • 'Persia. Memorandum by Sir R. Vansittart' Foreign Office, 1934 (folios 316-317)
  • 'Committee of Imperial Defence. Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East. Minutes of a meeting of the Sub-Committee held in Conference Room 'A', No. 2, Whitehall Gardens, SW1, on Friday, May 4th, 1934, at 3.45 p.m.' (folios 355-378)
  • 'Proposed Anglo-Persian General Treaty. Position reached on January 17, 1934' (folios 417-431).

The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 volume (432 folios)
Arrangement

The subject 200 (Anglo-Persian Treaty Negotiations) consists of eight volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/1250-1257. The volumes are divided into ten parts, with parts 1 and 2 comprising one volume, parts 3, 4 and 5 comprising one volume each, parts 6 and 7 comprising the fifth volume, and parts 8, 9 and 10 comprising one volume each.

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 433; 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.

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English in Latin script
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File 200/1928 Pt 10 'Persia: Anglo-Persian Relations. Treaty Negotiations' [‎70r] (140/868), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/1257, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100066374630.0x00008f> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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