File 1749/1921 ‘Persian Gulf:- Residency news summaries 1921-25’ [‎17r] (46/494)

CONFIDENTIAL.
^Bushire Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. Diary No. 14 of 1925, for the period 16th to
31st July 1925.
Movements.
156. British officials .—Major M. A. Ni
cholson, I.M.S., Chief Quarantine Medical
Officer and Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. Surgeon, Bushire,
visited Muhammerah and Abadan from the
19th to the 27th.
Reference paragraph 140. Major and
Mrs. More left for Shiraz on the 27th.
Persian officials. —Reference paragraph
97. Agha Mirza Reza Khan, Nizam-ul-
Wazareh, the newly appointed Karguzar
at Bandar Abbas, arrived at that port on the
10th and assumed charge of the Karguzarate
on the 12th.
Reference paragraph 105. Prince Mu
hammad Ali Mirza assumed on the 18th
the Governorship of the district of Dashti
and Dashtistan.
^ Agha Husain Khan Behzadi, the Officer
Commanding Persian Troops at Muhamme
rah, has been appointed Military Governor
of Muhammerah vice Murteza Ali Khan. It
is reported that the latter has been da-
placed as the result of complaints against
him by the people of Muhammerah and
Abadan ; and that the Officer Commanding
Khuzsstan is holding an enquiry into his
conduct of affairs.
Health, Persian Ports.
157. The health of the Persian ports is
good.
Khuzistan.
158. Arab Tribes .—Early in the month
Shaikh Aufi paramount Shaikh of the
Bani Turuf tribe, and Shaikh Khaza al,
another leading Shaikh of the tribe, were
arrested and removed to Dizful en route
for Tehran for failure to collect and surren
der the firearms in the possession of the
tribe, and for general disregard of Govern
ment authority.
Reference paragraph 147. About 30,000
Arabs were reported to have crossed into
Iraq and some 40,000 were reported to be
on the march before the occurrence of the
outbreak described in the immediately
following paragraph. Endeavours were
being made by the Persian authorities to
•stem this flood of migration. A sum of
Tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. 40,000 was sanctioned for the re
lief of the destitute and arrangements
were being made for the purchase and
distribution of wheat and barley.
159. Arab Rising at Muhammerah .— At
about 7-30 p.m. on the evening of the 24th
a serious outbreak of Arab tribesmen took
place at Muhammerah. About 400 Arabs,
mostly ghulams of the Shaikh of Muhamme
rah, attacked the Persian garrison and
occupied the town by midnight. As
the British Vice-Consul was cut off from
communication Sir A. T. Wilson, General
Manager of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company,
wirelessed to the Senior Naval Officer,
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , for the urgent despatch of a
gunboat, and to Basrah for the despatch
of troops by armoured car. H. M. S.
“ Triad ” arrived from Basrah at 1 a.m.,
on the morning of the 25th and stood by in
the Outer Anchorage of the Karun River.
Armoured cars, also troops in launches, were
despatched from Basrah but the former were
turned back before they reached the frontier
and the latter did not land as the situa
tion had improved before their arrival.
With the aid of reinforcements from Ahwaz
the Persian troops re-occupied the town
on the morning of the 25th and drove the
Arabs towards Faliych. The Arabs were
reported to have lost about 130 killed and
the Persians only 2 wounded. The town
was thoroughly looted and two clerks of
the Anglo-Persian Oil Company were
wounded. One, a British Indian subject,
died subsequently ; the other, a Goanese,
has since recovered. As The situation had
improved H. M. S. “ Triad ” left for
Basrah at 2 p.m. on the 25th.
The outbreak appears to have been a
premature move, not unconnected with
plans for a combined rising by the Chaab,
the Bani Turuf and the Mienab tribes.
Simultaneously with the outbreak at Mu
hammerah the first-mentioned tribe cap
tured Abdul Hasan, Shaikh-ul-Mashaikh,
the Persian Government nominee at Fal-
lahiyeh.
The Arabs driven out of Muhammerah
on the 25th took up their position in Fali-
yeh, but were attacked by land and water
on the 29th by Persian troops, who dislodg
ed them and forced them towards the
Iraq frontier, leaving about 100 dead.
About the same time the Fallahiyeli
Chaab ceased to be a source of danger by
splitting up into two fairly equal factions
which commenced fighting with one an
other.
INDIA FOREIGN SECRETARY'S
tx-ncri 27 AUG 1925
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