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File 200/1928 Pt 8 'Anglo-Persian Negotiations' [‎290r] (586/1096)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (543 folios). It was created in 30 May 1932-23 Oct 1933. 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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[This document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty’s Government,] *
Printed for the Cabinet. November 1932.
SECRET.
C.P. 371 (32). Copy No.
ANGLO-PERSIAN RELATIONS.
MEMORANDUM BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA.
The Memorandum circulated by Sir John Simon on the 24th October as
C.P. 358 (32) raises two main questions: First, that of the general conduct of
our negotiations with Persia; second, that of the possibility and desirability of
volunteering or agreeing to arbitration or judicial settlement of the question
of Bahrein as a lever for securing our desiderata in other directions.
2. Discussion must for the moment proceed on a somewhat hypothetical basis,
for we are still engaged in correspondence with the Persian Government as to the
withdrawal of their demand for the evacuation of the British naval station at Henjam,
and if the result of that correspondence is satisfactory a rather different situation
will arise and different considerations will to some extent operate. But, more
particularly as I am not, I fear, convinced by the arguments in C.P. 358 (32), it is,
1 think, desirable that I should without further delay indicate my own views (which
are shared by the Government of India) both on the relatively narrow question of
arbitration on Bahrein and on the wider question of the conduct of these negotiations
generally; and that I should indicate the course of action which I personally
consider should be followed by His Majesty’s Government as regards our negotiations
generally, and particularly in the event of a deadlock being reached with Persia over
the question of Henjam.
I.—Bahrein.
3. I will deal first with the question of Bahrein, for this is the central feature of
the Memorandum circulated by the Foreign Secretary.
4. I may, perhaps, remind my colleagues that Bahrein is an island landlocked by
the Arabian shore of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and geographically remote from Persia, which
in the last 2,000 years has apparently at various times been under the dominion of
the Persians, of Arab tribes from the neighbouring coast, of the Turks, of the Sultans
of Muscat, and of the Portuguese. The Portuguese were expelled b} 7 the Persians in
1602, and from that date the Islands remained for considerable periods under the
control of Persia until she was herself driven out in 1783 by Arab tribes from the
mainland. Since that period it is fair to say that Persian jurisdiction has never been
exercised in Bahrein, and His Majesty’s Government have since 1820 been in treaty
relations with its Arab rulers, whom in a series of engagements they have recognised
for this purpose as independent. Throughout the nineteenth century repeated claims
were made by Persia to sovereignty over the island and still more numerous claims
by the Turks, the suzerains of the mainland till the war. Claims were also made on
mm occasion by the Egyptians, and might with stronger justification have been made
by the Rulers of Muscat. We succeeded in persuading the Turks to relinquish their
claim in the Anglo-Turkish Convention of 1913, which was awaiting ratification on
the outbreak of the war. The Persian claim still remains.
5. There seems little doubt that our case is a very strong one, resting, as it does,,
cn effective possession of the island—based on conquest by the present me o
. eikhs for a period of 150 years, and I appreciate the force of the argument that,.
^ these circumstances, we ought not to fear taking or allowing the question o t le
position of our client to go for decision before an international tribunal. But the case
iS pot so simple as it looks, t fully recognise the importance of the principle o
arbitration in our general policy, and I recognise too that it is conceivable that in
certain circumstances it might be difficult for us to refuse to agree to the question ot
r a lrein being disposed of by judicial settlement. But I see the strongest objection
as ma tters stand to making any move in this direction ourselves and I feel oquu y
13 73 60 11.32

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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 Henjam [Hengam] Island and Bahrain.

The majority of the correspondence in the volume is internal correspondence between British officials, but it also contains a limited amount of correspondence in French that was exchanged between British and Persian Government officials.

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

  • 'Committee of Imperial Defence. Standing Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East. Minutes of a Meeting held at No. 2, Whitehall Gardens, SW1, on Tuesday, August 1st, 1933, at 10.15am' (folios 27-38)
  • Minutes of an informal meeting on Anglo-Persian relations held at the Foreign Office 26 June 1933 (folios 69-77)
  • 'Record of a Meeting held at the Foreign Office on November 18th, 1932, to discuss the situation arising out of Tehran telegrams Nos. 181 and 182 regarding Henjam' (folios 212-231)
  • Cabinet memorandum entitled 'Anglo-Persian Relations' 31 October 1924 (folios 289-292)
  • Cabinet memorandum entitled 'Anglo-Persian Relations' 24 October 1924 (folios 329-330)
  • 'Committee of Imperial Defence. Standing Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East. Minutes of a meeting on the Sub-Committee held in Conference Room A, No. 2, Whitehall Gardens, SW1 on Friday, September 30th, 1932, at 4.0 pm' (folios 390-412)
  • 'Committee of Imperial Defence. Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Sub-Committee. British Policy in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . Memorandum by the Secretary of State for India' 1928, (folios 491-493).

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 (543 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 inside back cover with 545; 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.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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File 200/1928 Pt 8 'Anglo-Persian Negotiations' [‎290r] (586/1096), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/1255, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100077104202.0x0000bb> [accessed 19 April 2024]

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