Coll 28/97 ‘Persia. Diaries. Tehran Intelligence Summaries’ [‎112r] (223/749)

THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT
W 4 "
PERSIA.
July 10, 1943.
h
SECRET. Ur
Section 1.
Copy No. 114
[E 3988/110/34]
Sir R. Bullard to Mr. Eden—(Received 10 ( 7 / July.)
(No. 274.)
HIS Majesty’s representative presents his compliments to His Majesty’s
Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and has the honour to transmit
herewith a copy of Intelligence Summary No. 26, for the period the 22 nd to the
28th June, 1943, compiled by the military attache to this legation.
Tehran, 2$th June, 1943.
Enclosure.
(Secret.)
Military Attache’s Intelligence Summary No. 26, for the 'period the
22nd to the 2%th June, 1943.
Persian Affairs.
Political.
A ROIAL Decree has been issued ordering preparations for new elections
to begin on the 23rd June. In Tehran and to a lesser degree in the provinces
canvassing has already begun. Ihe Tudeh party, still generally the most active
party, has agreed with two other Left parties, the Hamrahan and the Millat,
that they will not oppose each other’s candidates. A Democratic party, the
Adalat, which has been in existence for some time in name, has recently been
adding appreciably to its numbers. The Shah is reported on fairly reliable
authority to be creating an organisation to ensure the return for Tehran of
candidates of his choice, and it is alleged that the Chief of the General Staff
is spending the leave given to him from his military duties (see Summarv
No. 25/43, paragraph 11 ) in furthering the Shah’s election plans.
2 . The Majlis has ratified the Anglo-Persian Financial Agreement (see
Summary No. 12/43, paragraph 2), which it has had under consideration since
March of this year. Little progress has yet been made with other Bills that have
already been before Parliament for some time, the more important of which are
the Income Tax Bill, the Bills for Compulsory Education, Insurance of Workers,
the Issue of Treasury Bonds, and for the engagement of additional American
advisers.
3. The priesthood is again beginning to acquire importance after a long
period of eclipse. Some of them are being courted by the Shah and politicians.
Arrangements are being made to give an impressive reception to Haji Aga
Hussein Mujtahid Qumi, a prominent Shia divine of Kerbela, who is shortly
revisiting Persia. While the priesthood has little influence with the so-called
educated classes, it is still regarded with some respect by the lower classes, and
the advances now being made to certain influential mullahs probably have their
origin in the hope that their influence may be used against the spread of
Communistic ideas.
4. A new paper has appeared—-the Guity —which purports to be the organ
of the Iranian Workers’ Union, a union which has representatives in the provinces
but about which little is known. It is unlikely that the paper will survive without
Soviet support.
5. The Government finds itself critically short of cash. It has with difficulty
met its obligations for the past (Persian) month, which ended on the 22nd June,
but sees no prospect of meeting its obligations for the current month without
foreign help. 500 million rials are required immediately to finance purchases of
wheat under the scheme devised by the Adviser to the "Ministry of Food. The
Majlis has been asked to sanction the borrowing of this amount from the National
Bank, but the bank has in fact not more than 70 million rials to lend. If a
complete breakdown of the Administration is to be avoided it seems that a loan
will have to be provided from British and/or American sources.
[43—44]
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