Coll 28/97 ‘Persia. Diaries. Tehran Intelligence Summaries’ [‎116v] (232/749)

o. A commission consisting of Sartip Baharmast, an officer with a reputa
tion tor honesty and plain speaking, and some officers of the General Staff has
Deen sent to Isfahan to enquire into the circumstances of the disaster at Semirum.
• ^ art ip Muhammad Nakchevan, the G.O.C. of the Isfahan Division,
as been recalled and is to be court-martialled for neglect of duty. He is being
replaced temporarily by Sarhang Mahin. o j 5
Appointments — Military.
<. Sartip Setvati, to be assistant chief of the gendarmerie.
Internal Security.
Pars.
vu iu her V S } lUle chan g e m the situation. In the absence of General
fenanbakhti, who has come to Tehran to report, there appears to be a truce
between the forces of the Government and those of Nasir Qashgai. Armed
tribesmen are reported to be joining Nasir from the tribes in their summer
quarters and detached Persian forces in Karzin and Farrashband may be in
clanger of being surrounded. It is possible that General Shahbakhti may not
return. Ihe Government now hopes that Qavam ul Mulk will, if appointed
Governor-General of Fars, extricate them from the difficulties into which their
own and ^hahbakhti s folly has landed them. Qavam ul Mulk was, twentv
years ago, a strong influence, in Fars as were his ancestors some generations
before him. He is, with justification, demanding certain conditions and exten
sive powers to deal with local questions, and in the chaos of weakness and
intrigue that characterises the policy of the Government it is doubtful whether
his requirements will have been approved before the situation has deteriorated
beyond a point wffiere it is restorable by his influence.
thf? northern part of the province the tribesmen's success at
Semi rum has not been followed by more aggression than the usual lootino- of
villages. 1 he Boir Ahmadi are reported to have returned to their own country,
but bands of tribesmen have been seen in the vicinity of the road between Shah
Reza and Abadeh. Traffic on the road has not yet been interfered with. Con
voys of trucks for Russia will be escorted by Indian troops until the accumula
tion at Bushire is cleared.
10 . The Boir Ahmadi under ARdullah Zarghampur have, according to
a telegraphic report received from Hussein Quli of the Rustam section of & the
Mamassanni, given an ultimatum to the Khans of the Mamassanni threatenin 0,
to occupy their lands unless they join the Boir Ahmadi. The latter are now,
with their captures at Semirum, much better armed than the Mamassanni. The
Mamassanni have hitherto held aloof from Qashgai and Boir Ahmadi intrigues,
but only in the hope that their land claims would be satisfactorily settled by the
Government. In this, as in most other matters, the Government delays decision.
11 . A report, as yet unconfirmed, says that the Boir Ahmadi are moving
down towards the line Behbehan-Gach Saran, with a view to attacking detach
ments of the Persian army wffiich are dispersed along the road for its protection.
Bakhtiari.
12. Morteza Quli Khan, the newly appointed Bakhtiari Governor of
Bakhtiari, has reported that Abul Qasim has surrendered to him. It appears
to be, however, only a token surrender as Abul Qasim has been allowed to remain
in Ardal for one month with his men. It seems that his many years in Tehran
have not eliminated from Morteza Quli Khan the characteristics of the Lur tribes
to which he belongs and that he is unable to resist the temptation of taking-
advantage of the present situation and maintaining its suspense in order to force
the Government to settle the land claims of his brother khans.
Khorassan.
13. The fighting between rival Kurds near Shirwan ceased with the arrival
of the troops mentioned in Summary No. 27/43, paragraph 8 .
Brazilian Affairs.
14. M. Joachim Alaiyo has arrived in Tehran as Brazilian Minister.
British Affairs.
15. In addition to the company of Indian infantry that has been
co-operating in anti-locust measures in the Bem-Kerman area, a second company,
also provided by the Government of India, has been working to good effect in
the vicinity of Birjand.
Tehran, l§th July, 1943.