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Coll 17/15(1) 'Perso-Iraq Relations: Persia-Iraq frontier; Persia's claim in the Shatt-el-Arab' [‎382v] (776/961)

The record is made up of 1 volume (476 folios). It was created in 1 May 1933-15 Mar 1935. It was written in English and French. 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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protests which were based on the status quo as established by the Delimitation
Protocol While this Ministry have already forwarded to you copies of consider
able correspondence concerning Persian acts of aggression on the frontiers of
Iraq, we nevertheless deem it advisable to give the following summary of cases of
this nature for easy reference and in order to give an idea of the situation, which
will help in deciding the policy to be adopted towards the Persian Government.
1. Basra: Shatt-el-Arab.
According to the Delimitation Protocol the whole of the Shatt-el-Arab falls
within the frontiers of Iraq, Persia being left only Abadan, the four islands lying
between Shutait and Mawiyah, and two islands situated off the village of Maniuhi,
all of which form dependencies of Abadan. Persia has, however, ignored the
protocol and has been exercising sovereignty in the Shatt as follows
(a) Persian war vessels enter within the Iraq frontier, paying no heed to
port instructions and regulations. In the course of conversations with
the Port Director, Basra, the Officer Commanding Persian War
Vessels in the Shatt-el-Arab and also the Persian consul, Basra,
declared that the Persian Government did not recognise the said
regulations and instructions, nor did they recognise the existing
frontier of the Iraqi Government’s ownership of the Shatt-el-Arab as
at present.
(b) Persian motor launches with “ amniyah ” (police) and customs officers on
board enter the Shatt-el-Arab and arrest Iraqi subjects; while Persian
soldiers fire on Iraqi and other owners of motor launches plying in the
Shatt-el-Arab, on the pretext that they are engaged in smuggling or
have violated the frontiers of Persia.
We have on numerous occasions invited the Persian Government’s attention
to the contraventions committed by their vessels in the Shatt-el-Arab and to the
risks involved by the continued commission of such acts, and we have forwarded
to them copies of the port instructions. The last communication on the subject of
contraventions by Persian war vessels was our note, dated the 15th January,
1934, addressed to the Persian Legation, Bagdad, of which a copy is enclosed
herewith^ 1 ) and to which no reply has yet been received. Contraventions by war
vessels continue, as well as acts of frontier violation.
2. A marah: Posts.
Persian aggression in the Amarah Liwa started in 1931, when the Persian
authorities began a propaganda campaign among the Iraqi tribes. This campaign
was followed by the ploughing and sowing of a section of the Sharsh lands and the
murder of one Iraqi subject, and then by the construction of a motor road, the
demolition of frontier pillars, and the construction of three posts within the Iraqi
frontier at Sharsh, Ilwa and Bujaila, and the connexion of these posts by
telephone. Prolonged correspondence having failed to produce any useful result,
a commission consisting of military engineers was sent out. This commission
reported on the location of these posts, having regard to the Delimitation Protocol,
and m their report established the fact of the violation of Iraqi territory by the
Pei sians. The last note addressed to the Persian Government on the basis of the
^ T aS which we sent you a copy with our letter dated
-n e f Av 1 Apnl, 1934, and to which the Persian Government have not yet replied,
ni "‘W ^!r lc k Ministry expect to receive from the Persian Government
4.1 U t^ ?• v"’ no ^ differ from their latest reply concerning non-recognition
of the Delimitation Protocol. 8
—V r f kasvkj! o.
Iraq is entitled to half of the waters of the Gangir in Mandali. It was
tUo ° j?] 18 l 3 ^ 0 P 0 Di on ol the water supply that the Mandali gardens w(
?Q 9 e an< ^ ^ at ! iac P ^cts disposed of agricultural land there. But sir
^ • ei ‘ sia started to take the greater part of these waters, leaving only a sm
[■ ion o ow into Iraqi territory. Following conversations and diploma
l 1 )Not printed.

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Content

The volume contains papers regarding relations between Persia [Iran] and Iraq. It primarily concerns the frontier delineated by the 1913-1914 Boundary Commission, in particular Persian claims over areas of the Shatt el-Arab, and rights to oilfields in the Naft Khana [Naft Khāna] or Khaniqin [Khāniqīn]area. The papers document renewed negotiations over the border, and include discussion of the following topics: Iraqi concerns over Persian military activities conducted in Iraq; Persia's refusal to recognise the validity of the 1914 Frontier Delimitation Protocol; attempts to redraw the frontier at the Shatt el-Arab along the thalweg [valley way], as opposed to the medium filum aquae ; proposals to revive the Shatt el-Arab Conservancy Board Scheme; and proposals for an agreement to regulate the exploitation of the oilfields in the transferred territories on the frontier near Khanqin, including the proposed creation of a special zone. These papers primarily consist of correspondence between the following: HM Ambassadors at Baghdad, Teheran and Italy; the 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. Political Department; the Foreign Office (principally Sir John Simon, and J C Sterndale-Bennet); the Iraqi Minister for Foreign Affairs; and the Persian Minister for Foreign Affairs.

In 1935 the Iraqi Government formally raised the question of the frontier with the Council of the League of Nations, and sought a Court ruling as to the validity of the 1914 Boundary Protocol. The Italian delegate to the League (Baron Pompeo Aloisi) was designated Rapporteur to the negotiations, and the volume contains correspondence between the Foreign Office and HM Ambassador in Rome, regarding a proposed Italo-Iraqi Treaty of Friendship, proposals regarding the frontier made by Aloisi, and general Italian influence over Iran and Iraq. The volume also includes copies of memoranda and minutes circulated by the League, in addition to correspondence regarding the negotiations in Geneva and Italy, and documents from the Committee of Imperial Defence Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East.

The volume includes a divider giving a list of correspondence references found in the volume by year. This is placed at the end of the correspondence (folio 1).

Extent and format
1 volume (476 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 472; these numbers are written in pencil 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. The front and back covers, along with the two leading and two ending flyleaves, have not been foliated.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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Coll 17/15(1) 'Perso-Iraq Relations: Persia-Iraq frontier; Persia's claim in the Shatt-el-Arab' [‎382v] (776/961), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2869, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100074341460.0x0000b1> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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