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Coll 30/90 'Persian claim to the island of Bahrain' [‎507r] (1026/1062)

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The record is made up of 1 file in 3 parts (519 folios). It was created in 25 May 1934-23 Sep 1948. 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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inhabitants to be under British protection, and must decline to entertain any
further representations on the subject.” The note added that this renly had
invariably been made to the Ottoman Government, which had on several occasions
advanced a claim to Bahrein. In reply to this note, a formal protest was
received from the Persian Government, in which their claim to sovereignty over
Bahrein was based on an agreement, dated the 30th August, 1822 & between
aptain Whlliam Bruce, the special commissioner of the British Government,”
and the Prince Governor A Prince of the Royal line who also acted as Governor of a large Iranian province during the Qājār period (1794-1925). of Shiraz. This agreement, however, as was pointed out
in a reply from His Majesty’s Minister on the 2nd January, 1907, and again on the
23rd February, 1907, was promptly disavowed at the time by the proper
representatives of His Britannic Majesty, as having been entered" into without
authority, and His Majesty Path Ali Shah also refused to recognise its
stipulations, and expressed his displeasure that the Prince of Shiraz should have
entered into any engagements with the British Government without his knowledge
or instructions. In these circumstances, having regard to international law and
custom, the agreement cannot be regarded as ever having possessed any binding
force.
6. From the foregoing remarks you will observe that the Persian Govern
ment are not justified in supposing that His Majesty’s Government, either in 1869
or at any other time, intended to recognise that Bahrein was a part of Persia, and
that, while they have, indeed, admitted that a claim on the subject has from time
to time been put forward by the Persian Government, they have never admitted the
validity of the claims which either the Turkish or Persian Governments have
frequently put forward in the past. Their consistent endeavour in the matter of
Bahrein has been to secure that the peaceful development of the islands and the
welfare of the Arab inhabitants shall not be disturbed by unjustified attempts on
the part of their neighbours to subject them to a foreign domination. They are
not prepared to contemplate any departure from this policy.
I have, &c.
AUSTEN CHAMBERLAIN
(C)
[E 4249/51/91]
Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and has the honour to transmit
herewith copy of a note from the Acting Persian Minister foi Foreign ans,
dated the 2nd August, on the subject of Bahrein.
Tehran, August 6, 1928.
Enclosure in (C).
M. Pakrevan to Mr. Parr.
Teheran, le 2 aout 1928.
sur les lies de Bahrein.
[10151]

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Content

The file concerns the claim of the Government of Iran (generally referred to as the Government of Persia) to territorial sovereignty over Bahrein [Bahrain].

The papers include: the Iranian claim in the light of the Bahrain oil concession; representations by the Government of Iran to the League of Nations, and the involvement of League in the dispute; summary of diplomatic correspondence, 1927-29 (folios 506-511); 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. 'Historical Memorandum on Bahrein', dated 14 July 1934 - a historical summary of the political status of Bahrain, and Persian claims to sovereignty; the submission of the question by 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. to the Law Officers of the Crown, 1934 (folios 466-472), and the report of the Law Officers of the Crown (folios 400-403), stating their opinion that Persia had no rights of sovereignty or suzerainty over Bahrain; the view of the Foreign Office (subsequently adopted) that references in public pronouncements to the independence of Bahrain needed to be qualified by the statement that the ruler was 'in special treaty relations with His Majesty's Government' (folios 378-380); the status of Tamb and Abu Musa (folio 361); the imposition of Iranian import duty on aviation oil supplied to Bahrain (folios 315-316); the views of 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. on the dangers of submitting the question to international arbitration (folios 308-314); similarities to the dispute between the United States of America (USA) and the Netherlands over Palmas Island [Miangas or Palmas, Indonesia] (e.g. folios 306-307); the views of the Government of Saudi Arabia (folios 268-270); the issue of passports and visas; transcripts of articles in support of the Iranian position in the Iranian and Arabic language press; the effect of the Bahrain nationality and property laws; Italian propaganda in support of the Iranian claim (folio 243); comparison with the Falkland Islands (folio 210); the refusal of the Iranian postal authorities to accept mails from Bahrain (folio 186); the involvement of the United Nations Organisation; Foreign Office 'Memorandum on Bahrein', dated 13 January 1947, substantially based on 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. 'Historical Memorandum on Bahrein' of 1934 (folios 97-126); Soviet propaganda over Bahrain (folio 57); the presence in Tehran of a person claiming to represent the Bahrain National Party (folios 50-54); and correspondence dated 1948 concerning the size and position of the Persian community in Bahrain, including a letter on the subject from Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (folios 25-37).

The file contains significant correspondence from the Foreign Office, HM Minister, Tehran (later the British Ambassador to Tehran), and 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 French language content of the file consists of approximately thirty folios of diplomatic correspondence and newspaper extracts.

The file also contains copies of earlier correspondence, dated 1927-31.

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.

Extent and format
1 file in 3 parts (519 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: this file consists of three physical parts. The foliation sequence commences at the front cover of part one with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover of part three with 525; 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-524; these numbers are printed, but are not circled.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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Coll 30/90 'Persian claim to the island of Bahrain' [‎507r] (1026/1062), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3810, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100059426988.0x00001b> [accessed 2 April 2025]

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