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File 4535/1928 Pt 2 ‘Persian Gulf Negotiations 1928. Status of Tamb. (and Abu Musa)’ [‎13r] (34/1078)

The record is made up of 1 volume (535 folios). It was created in 31 Jul 1928-29 Mar 1932. 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 Governmentj
PERSIA.
2.
/7*3
j g Z’J
March 16. 1932.
CONFIDENTIAL.
Section 1.
*E 1111/208/34!
No. 1.
I si ^
Foreign Office to 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. .
Sir, Foreign Office, March 16, 193'2.
WITH reference to Mr. Hoare’s despatch No. 92 of the 17th February (a
copy of which was sent to you on the 4th March), regarding the general treaty
negotiations with Persia, I am directed by Secretary Sir John Simon to state
that in his opinion it is now necessary to consider the position of these negotiations
as a whole in view of the Persian Government’s latest suggestion that His
Majesty’s Government should agree to withdraw the British naval depot from
Henjam, and to obtain instead a prolongation of Imperial Airways’ permit to
operate the South Persian air route. •
2. Secretary Sir Samuel Hoare will remember that in September 1930 a
comprehensive memorandum, showing the views of His Majesty’s Government
regarding the general treaty negotiations, was communicated to the Persian
Government. This document, a copy of which was enclosed in Sir R. Clive’s
despatch No. 467 of the 23rd September, 1930, explained that there was only one
tangible advantage which His Majesty’s Government would themselves derive
from the proposed treaty, and that this advantage was the continuance by agree
ment with the Persian Government, for a further period, of the refuelling and
recreational facilities enjoyed by British warships at Henjam. The fact, there
fore, that the Persian Government are no longer willing to grant a lease of the
naval depot at Henjam has changed profoundly the whole aspect of the general
treaty negotiations.
3. The main advantages, tangible or otherwise, to be gained by His
Majesty’s Government under the proposed treaty, as hitherto contemplated, may
be summarised as follows :—
(a) Henjam. Continuance for at least twenty, and possibly fifty, years of
the recreational and refuelling facilities now enjoyed by His
Majesty’s ships.
(b) Bahrein. Abandonment of Persian claim.
(c) Tamb and Abu Musa. Abandonment of Persian claims.
{d) A non-aggression article to include the Arab sheikhdoms under British
protection on the Arabian side of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
(e) A claims article.
(/) Possibly also the repayment by Persia of the capital of the £490,000
pre-war debt. Persia is, however, at present paying interest on this
sum, and is understood to be likely to repay the capital shortly, apart
from the general treaty.
4. On the other hand, the main advantages to be gained by the Persian
Government are the following:—
(1) The remission of all the war and post-war debt, i.e., £1,510,000 of the
“ agreed debt.” Hitherto the Persian Government have only been
informed of the readiness of His Majesty’s Government to waive
£1 million of this sum in return for a satisfactory settlement.
(2) Rendition of Basidu. .
(3) British recognition of Persian sovereignty over Sim, unjustifiably seized
bv Persia in 1887.
(4) Duzdab Railwav Transfer to Persia of Persian section, and under
taking by the Government of India to operate the Indian section for
five years (at an estimated cost to the Government of India of
60,000 rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. a year). . ,
(5) Abrogation of Slavery Convention of 1882, which gives to British
warships the right to search Persian vessels for slaves.
[416 q—1]

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Content

The volume contains papers relating to the ownership and sovereignty of the islands of Tamb and Abu Musa (and Little Tamb and Sirri) in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and negotiations for a general treaty between the United Kingdom and Persia [Iran]. The papers mainly consist of correspondence and 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 and Secret Department minute papers.

Most of the volume concerns the seizure of a dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. [sailing vessel] from Debai [Dubai] (according to the reports of British officials) near the island of Tamb (also spelled Tunb and Tanb in the volume) by Persian customs officials. The British Government considered the island of Tamb to be owned by the Shaikh of Ras al Khaimah, and the papers discuss the expectation of the Trucial Shaikhs that Britain should take action against Persia, in accordance with Britain’s Treaty obligations to the Trucial Shaikhs. Thus, the papers also concern: the British Government’s claim for compensation from the Persian Government for the Trucial Shaikhs and the passengers of the dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. ; the response of the Persian Government that Tamb was Persian territory and that therefore this incident took place in Persian territorial waters, and that the dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. was carrying smuggled goods; and the proposal that the British Government should immediately pay 5,000 rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. from Indian revenues as compensation to those affected by the Tamb incident, in anticipation of any settlement of the claim against Persia.

The Tamb incident raised the general question of the claim of the Trucial Shaikhs to the islands of Tamb and Abu Musa (the latter of which was considered by the British Government to be owned by the Shaikh of Sharjah) as well as Little Tamb and Sirri. Thus the volume also includes: papers relating to an article drafted by the British Government for inclusion in a forthcoming general treaty with Persia, under which Persia would withdraw its claim to Tamb, Little Tamb, and Abu Musa, in return for the Trucial Jowasimi [ Qawasim One of the ruling families of the United Arab Emirates; also used to refer to a confederation of seafaring Arabs led by the Qāsimī tribe from Ras al Khaima. ] Shaikhs relinquishing their claim to Sirri; and negotiations between the British Government and the Persian Government about this and other issues, as part of the general treaty negotiations with Persia.

The main correspondents are as follows: 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. ; the Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; the Admiralty; the Government of India Foreign and Political Department; the Foreign Office; the Commander in Chief, East Indies; the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; the Colonial Office; HM Chargé d’Affaires, Tehran, and HM Minister, Tehran.

The volume also includes a copy of 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. memorandum ‘Status of the Islands of Tamb, Little Tamb, Abu Musa, and Sirri.’, by John Gilbert Laithwaite, dated 24 August 1928.

In addition, the volume includes the following items in French: correspondence between Sir Robert Clive, HM Minister at Tehran, and Abdolhossein Teymourtache [Teymūrtāsh], the Persian Minister of Court, dated January to March 1930; correspondence between Clive and Mirza Mohamed Ali Khan Feroughi, the Persian Minister of Foreign Affairs, dated 9 August and 21 October 1930, and an Aide-mémoire by the British Legation at Tehran, dated 21 October 1930.

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 (535 folios)
Arrangement

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

The subject 4535 ( Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and Persia: telegraphs) consists of nine files (seven volumes and two physical files), IOR/L/PS/10/1266-1274. The files are divided into seventeen parts, with parts 1 and 3 comprising one volume, part 2 comprising the second volume, part 5 comprising the third file, part 7 comprising the third and fourth volumes, parts 8 and 11 comprising the fifth volume, parts 13 to 15 comprising the sixth volume, part 16 comprising the seventh file, and parts 10 and 17 comprising the eighth volume.

A location list on folio 5 of IOR/L/PS/10/1271 and IOR/L/PS/10/1272 states that part 4 is Coll 30/75 (IOR/L/PS/12/3792), part 6 is Coll 29/68 (IOR/L/PS/12/3644), part 9 is Coll 30/17 (IOR/L/PS/12/3727), and part 12 is P 4480/1923 Pt 2 (IOR/L/PS/10/1099).

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 532; 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.

A previous foliation sequence between ff 193-532, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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File 4535/1928 Pt 2 ‘Persian Gulf Negotiations 1928. Status of Tamb. (and Abu Musa)’ [‎13r] (34/1078), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/1267, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100079290334.0x000023> [accessed 24 April 2024]

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