Coll 28/97 ‘Persia. Diaries. Tehran Intelligence Summaries’ [‎62v] (124/749)

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attention by the Deputies and without hostile comment. The only members of the
Cabinet present besides the Prime Minister were the two Ministers without port
folio. No announcement has yet been made as to the new composition of the
Cabinet. 1 n
4. Reports from the provinces show that neither the riots in Tehran nor
the arrest of General Zahidi have had much effect on local opinion, which is
concerned mostly with considerations of food and the general rise in the cost
living. 4
»
Economic.
5. Wheat from British army reserves has been reaching Tehran in sufficient
quantities to maintain the daily supply, but beyond the 1,500 tons to come from
tha,t source supplies are uncertain. There is a surplus of wheat and barley,
estimated at 50,000 tons, available in Azerbaijan, but its arrival depends on
transport being available for its collection and on Russian goodwill. Snow is
likely soon to make the work of collection more difficult, and the future bread
supply of Tehran cannot be considered as anything but precarious.
6 . Ration cards for bread were issued to all the inhabitants of Tehran on
Friday, the 18th December.
7. The ration of sugar per head has been fixed for the next two months at
400 grammes of hard and 300 grammes of soft, and of tea at 25 grammes of
imported and 25 grammes of locally grown tea.
8 . In order to encourage the production of cotton the Ministry of Agricul
ture has increased the price of cotton by approximately 120 per cent, in
comparison with last year’s prices.
Persian Forces.
9. General Ridley has now presented his proposals for the reorganisation
of the Persian army to the Shah. He is not suggesting any great changes in
fighting troops, but is proposing the organisation of communication, transport,
supply and medical units, which are now practically non-existent; the temporary
disbandment of most of the 105-mm. and 150-mm. artillery units and of the
Mechanised Brigade; and the distribution of the available pack artillery (sixty-six
guns) among the divisions. The strength he proposes is as follows :—
7 divisions of about 5.000 each
3 divisions of about 6,000 each
Total fighting strength ...
Recruits in depots, about
Staffs, training schools, services
from Army Budget
35,000
18,000
53,000
... 15,000
and civilians paid
18.000
Total paid from Army Budget ... ... ... 86,000
He has come to the inevitable conclusion that the first step in any reform is
to increase the pay of officers, since present rates of pay are far short of the
minimum necessary for an honest livelihood. The increases he proposes would
raise the Army Budget to 130 million tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. .
10. It is now possible to form some estimate of the effect on the Persian
army of the arrest of General Zahidi. While few regret his disappearance or
doubt that there were good reasons for his removal, the arrest by British troops
of a Persian officer is generally resented by other officers. It is regarded as a blow
to the already low prestige of the Persian officer, and is consequently deprecated
by those whose aim it is to improve the morale of the army. No real improvement
in morale can, however, be effected without the removal of corrupt and intriguing
officers of the type of General Zahidi, and the good effect is likely considerably to
outweigh the ill-effects of any temporary resentment.
11 . The press announces that Sipahbod Amir Ahmadi, the present Military
Governor of Tehran (see Summary No. 50/42, paragraph 4), is to be appointed
Minister for War. This may lead to a tussle between the Ministry of War and
the General Staff. Not only are Amir Ahmadi and the Chief of the General Staff
rivals and mutually antagonistic, but the constitutional issue of the relation of
the Ministry of War to the General Staff is likely to come to a head, for Amir
Ahmadi, though he cares nothing for constitutions, being a commanding arid