Abstract: The file contains papers regarding a request by the Government of Persia for tenders from shipbuilding firms for three new cargo steamers. The primary correspondents are: Persian Chargé d'Affaires, London; Department of Overseas Trade; Commercial Secretary, British Legation, Tehran; Foreign Office.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 17, and terminates at f 40, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: Papers reporting on various treaties and agreements signed between the Persian [Iranian] Government, and other foreign powers. The agreements and related papers were sent by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the Under-Secretary of State for India, accompanied by a cover note. The file includes the texts of a number of these agreements, all of which are in French. In some instances, copies of correspondence between government representatives are appended to the agreements, as are newspaper cuttings reporting agreements.The file also includes papers and British Government correspondence relating to a break in diplomatic relations between Iran and France from 28 December 1938 to 19 February 1939, in response to articles about cats (
chats) appearing in the French press, perceived by the Iranian Government to be an allusion to the Shah.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 115; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which exists between ff 2-114 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: Correspondence and other papers concerning the financial crisis in Persia [Iran] during the Second World War, and the efforts made by the Governments of Britain and the United States of America to ameliorate the crisis, partly to help maintain military operations in the South-East Asian theatre of the War. The correspondence covers: the Persian currency crisis of 1942, and an agreement between the Governments of Britain and Persia, making provisions for the control of exchange rates between Persia and Britain (f 155); the appointment of Arthur Chester Millspaugh as Director-General of Finance to the Persian Government, in an effort to resolve the country’s financial crisis; Millspaugh’s assessment of the Persian economy, and his recommendations for its stabilisation (ff 71-75); correspondence between Millspaugh and the Financial Counsellor at the British Legation at Tehran, William Angus Boyd Iliff.The file’s principal correspondents are: HM Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Tehran, Reader William Bullard; the Foreign Office; and HM Ambassador to the United States of America, the Earl of Halifax, Edward Frederick Lindley Wood.The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 234; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Confidential political diaries submitted on a fortnightly basis throughout 1931, on a monthly basis from May 1932, returning to a fortnightly basis in September 1939, by the British Consul General at Khorassan [Khorāsān] (Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril Charles Johnson Barrett; Major Clive Kirkpatrick Daly; Lieutenant-Colonel Everard Huddleston Gastrell; Giles Frederick Squire). The diaries describe affairs in the Khorassan region, and are arranged under a series of headings that expand and evolve over time:Activities of the Persian [Iranian] Government and Persian authorities, including the programme of modernisation carried out at the orders of the Shah during the 1930s, activities of the Persian military and police.Events at Sistan, Kain [Ka’īn], and Birjand, and in the district of Sarhad.Activities of the municipal government in Khorassan, including public works and urban development programmes.Foreign interests and affairs in the region, including British, Russian, Afghan and Turkish affairs, and the movements of foreign visitors.Soviet propaganda, and British and Persian counter-propaganda measures.Agricultural production, food supplies and food shortages.Trade, commerce and smuggling.Security, including reports of robberies, and raids on transport routes.Weather reports.Diseases and epidemics.Reports of locust observations and movements.The diaries include some reports reflecting topical events: military activity on the Persia-Turkmenistan border, and reports of Russian refugees crossing into Persia from Turkmenistan; the start of the Second World War, with a focus on the activities of German subjects in Khorassan, speculation over Russian involvement in the War, and the impact upon public opinion in Iran of German radio propaganda, describing Germany’s military successes in Europe throughout 1940.Minute papers are enclosed with reports dated up till late 1935, which frequently contain handwritten or typed notes made by India Office staff, commenting on the contents of the report.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 650; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: The file is a direct chronological continuation of Coll 28/10 ‘Persia. Diaries; Meshed Consular Jany 1931 – May 1940. Khorassan Political 1934 – May 1940. Khorassan Fortnightly Reports’ (IOR/L/PS/12/3406), and contains political diary reports, submitted fortnightly (and then monthly from late 1945) by the British Consul-General for Khorassan [Khorāsān] in Meshed [Mashhad] (Giles Frederick Squire; Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Ponsonby Watts; Reginald Michael Hadow; Clarmont Percival Skrine). The subject matter covered by the diaries changes during the course of the Second World War and immediate post-war period. Between June 1940 and August 1941, the diaries focus on the War, and cover:public opinion in Meshed on developments in EuropeBritish and German radio broadcasts in PersianGerman and British cinema programmes in MeshedGerman interests in Khorassan, including the activities of German individuals, and German commercial interests, including the ordering of raw materials, such as wool and skins, bound for Germanythe Russian invasion of Khorassan and occupation of Meshed in August 1941the abdication of Reza Shah PahlaviFrom late 1941 onwards:the security situation in Khorassanrailway construction and communicationsfood supplies and shortages, with particular emphasis on wheat suppliestransport of supplies, including the activities of the East Persian Auxiliary Transport Service (EPATS) and the United Kingdom Commercial Corporation (UKCC)Russian government and military activitiesGerman and Russian propagandalocal affairs, including Persian (Iranian) government affairs at Khorassan, Birjand, Zabul, Zahedanthe movements in Khorassan of Polish child refugeesThe file also includes four six-monthly reports on the political situation in Khorasan, produced by the Consul-General at Khorasan, spanning the years 1945 and 1946. Minute papers are enclosed in front of most reports, with typewritten notes made by India Office staff commenting on the contents of the report.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 648; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: Printed copies of monthly confidential commercial reports for the region of Sistan and Kain [Ka’īn] in eastern Persia [Iran], submitted by the British Consul at Sistan and Kain (Major Clive Kirkpatrick Daly). The reports include:details of the demand for, and statistical data of the imports and exports of a variety of goods, including sugar, tea, carpets, textiles, nuts, motor vehicles and motor sparesfreight rates and seasonal road conditionsexchange ratesthe general state of trade across the regionthe activities of Indian traders in the regionsmuggling activity on the Persian-Baluchistan [Balochistān] borderstatistical tables covering trade into and out of Persia via Zahedan, trade on the Nushki to Duzdap [Zahedan] railway, and comparative trade figures for goods imported into Persia via Zahedan from the British Empire and other countriesthe impact upon trade in the region of the closure of the Nushki to Duzdap railway, and the imposition of the Persian Trade Monopoly LawMinute papers are enclosed with each report, which frequently contain handwritten notes made by India Office staff, occasionally making reference to numbered paragraphs from the report.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 95; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers; nor does it include the four leading and ending flyleaves.An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 13-95; these numbers are also written in pencil and circled, but are crossed through.
Abstract: Reports submitted by British officials in Persia [Iran], along with newspaper cuttings from the British press, relating to construction work on the Trans-Persian Railway, intended to run from Bandar Shah [Bandar-e Torkaman] in the north of the country, to Bandar Shapur [Bandar-e Emam Khomeyni] at the head of the Persian Gulf. The papers focus on foreign and British investments and activity in the construction of the railway:Completion of construction of the line between Bandar Shah [Bandar-e Torkoman] and Aliabad by a German syndicate in 1931, and its handing over to the Persian Government.The appointment in 1933 of a Danish-Swedish syndicate,
Kampsax Aktieselskab, to undertake construction of the remaining north and south section of the Trans-Persian Railway.The purchase of British locomotives, manufactured by Beyer, Peacock & Co. by the Persian State Railway.Suspension of construction work on the southern section of the line in 1934, due to a lack of funds.Actions of the Persian Government to fund railway construction, including the French text of a supplementary budget law for the Iranian year 1314 (equivalent to the Gregorian year 1935) on folio 27.The opening of the Trans-Persian Railway (now referred to as the Trans-Iranian Railway) in 1938.A report from the Secretary to the Government of India, External Affairs Department (Lieutenant-Colonel William Rupert Hay), dated 29 May 1940, referring to the line’s strategic significance in wartime (ff 4-5).The majority of the file’s correspondence is sent from the British Legation at Tehran (Hughe Montgomery Knatchbull-Hugessen; Nevile Montagu Butler; Horace James Seymour).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 71; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 1-70; these numbers are also written in pencil and circled, but are crossed through.
Abstract: Copies of correspondence exchanged between British officials (the Foreign Office, the Board of Trade, and the British Consulate at Sistan and Kain [Ka’īn]), and between Raymond Cecil Parr of the British Legation at Tehran, and the Persian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mirza Mohamed Ali Khan Feroughi, concerning the imposition of taxes in Persia [Iran] upon certain imported goods, notably imported alcoholic products. Letters from Feroughi, along with details of the Persian Government’s new taxes, are in French.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 36; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-34; these numbers are also written in pencil and circled, but are crossed through.
Abstract: Correspondence relating to changes within the Persian Government: the appointment and dismissal of ministers by the Shah of Persia (Reza Shah Pahlavi); the resignation or death during duty of ministers; the reorganisation of governmental departments (both central and provincial) at the instigation of the Shah.Items of note in the file include:A text containing a number of articles concerning changes to addresses and titles in the Persian royal and government hierarchy. The text is undated and with no indication of author, but is presumably a translation from the French or Persian and dates to around 1935, being part of the Shah’s programme of modernisation of Persian society (ff 102-103).A translation of regulations relating to the reorganisation of the Persian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (ff 80-89).The correspondence is chiefly sent by various officials at the British Legation in Tehran (Robert Henry Clive, Reginald Hervey Hoare, Hughe Montgomery Knatchbull-Hugessen, Victor Alexander Louis Mallet, Nevile Montagu Butler, Horace James Seymour). A small number of items in the file are in French.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 142; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-141; these numbers are also written in pencil and circled, but are crossed through.
Abstract: Printed and typewritten monthly reports submitted by the British Consul, or Acting/Officiating Consul at Kerman (George Alexander Richardson; Abdul Alim L K; Major Cecil Henning Lincoln; Lieutenant-Colonel George Arthur Falconer). The reports cover affairs in the Persian [Iranian] province of Kerman, as well as in the towns of Kerman and the Persian Gulf port of Bandar Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās]:the activities of local officials and local government, including courts and customsactivities of the Persian police, military and navycommunications, including roads, railways, and trade routesmunicipal affairs, including public workshealth and sanitation, including reports of outbreaks of diseasesecurity, including reports of crimeclimate, including rainfall and floodsagriculture and harvests (wheat, barley, opium)local trade and commercial activities, including carpet production, the activities of the National Bank of Persia/Iran, and the Government’s institution of monopoly companiesBritish interests, including the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC), the Indo-European Telegraph, and the movements of British individualsforeign interests in Kerman, including Russian, German and Japanesethe arrival and departure of vessels on the Kerman coast, and, attached to a number of reports for 1935, detailed lists of cargoesMinute papers are enclosed in front of many reports, containing notes made by India Office staff commenting on items of note in the report.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 534; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located at the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-533; these numbers are also written in pencil and circled, but are crossed through.
Abstract: Annual commercial reports for the provinces of Sistan and Kain [Ka’īn] (from 1936, referred to as the provinces of Khorāsān and Mekran [Makran]), submitted by the British Consul for Sistan and Kain (from 1936, the British Consul-General for Khorāsān, Meshed [Mashhad]) (Clarmont Percival Skrine; Major Clive Kirkpatrick Daly; Major Everard Huddleston Gastrell; Captain Giles Frederick Squire). The reports include sections on:trade (including imports, exports, foreign goods, openings for British goods)finance (including banking activity, bankruptcies).taxationPersian military (including the commandeering of transport, effects of conscription)agriculture (including irrigation, opium production)industry (including new industries, electricity generation, demand for foreign machinery)communications and transport (roads, railways)social conditions (standard of living, unemployment, public health and hygiene)appendices with statistical tables on imports and exports on the Nushki to Duzdap [Zahedan] railway, imports and exports via Zahedan, freight rates, and rates for animal transportPreceding each report is an India Office minute paper, containing handwritten notes commenting on the contents of the report. The file also includes a small amount of official correspondence relating to the contents of the reports, and a number of other reports prepared by the British-Consul General, relating to the commercial situation in eastern Iran, and Iranian trade with Russia.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 157; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located at the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.An additonal foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-156; these numbers are also written in pencil and circled, but are crossed through.
Abstract: Correspondence, newspaper cuttings, treaties and other papers, reporting on commercial relations between Persia [Iran] and Russia. The papers cover: a deterioration in relations between Persia and Russia in 1932-33, culminating in the ban on Russian imports into Persia; the Persian Government’s Foreign Trade Monopoly Act of 1933 (ff 218-223); the Irano-Soviet Treaty of Establishment, Commerce and Navigation, agreed between the two nations in 1935; a copy of the treaty in French (ff 101-106); a further printed copy of the treaty in French and Russian (ff 42-85); the termination of the 1935 treaty in 1938; the agreement of a new Treaty of Commerce and Navigation in 1940, created in response to events in the Second World War (ff 3-7).The file’s principal correspondents are: HM’s Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Tehran, Reginald Hervey Hoare, Hughe Montgomery Knatchbull Hugesson, Horace James Seymour; the British Chargé d’Affaires at Tehran, Victor Alexander Louis Mallet; the Commercial Secretary at the British Legation in Tehran, Sydney Simmonds; HM’s Ambassador to Russia, the Viscount Chilston, Aretas Akers-Douglas; Noel Hughes Havelock Charles of the British Embassy in Moscow.The file includes several items in French, being newspaper cuttings and texts from the Persian newspapers
Le Messager de Teheranand
Le Journal de Tehran.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 240; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.