Coll 28/97 ‘Persia. Diaries. Tehran Intelligence Summaries’ [‎126v] (252/749)

6 Ihe members of the committee to supervise the elections in Tehran have
ma ookx president is Seyyid Muhammad Sadiq Tabatabai (F.O. 205;
M.A. 28o). The committee has conveyed to the Government its opinion that the
continuance of the military governorship in Tehran is incompatible with free
elections.
Economic. 0k
7. An official statement in the press states that engagements for the delivery
i 1 ) ^ l ailc M 01 'ds for the current year now total 400,000 tons, of which
520,000 tons will suffice for the needs of this year, and 80,000 tons will be held
, in reserve for the coming year. In fact, however, only about 16,000 tons of this
year s harvest have as yet reached the Government stores, of which 8,000 have
been collected m Khuzestan.
"j 11 latest public monthly report Dr. Millspaugh estimates the deficit
m the budget for the current year at 1,500 million rials without allowing for any
increase in the salaries of Government employees. Some increase is, however
i niV u ri r ly a 1 d ? lltted t0 be essential. An increase of 50 per cent, would increase
t e budget deficit to 1,900 million rials. Such a sum cannot be raised during
the current year by the Persian Government by taxation or by internal loans. The
. co „ me iax P ld ’ even if if were to become law immediately, would not be
effective for some time. The Government already owes to the National Bank the
sum of 3,200 million rials and the capacity of the bank to lend is almost exhausted
Ihe Government has no alternative but to ask the Allies for a loan sufficient to
covei the deficit of 1 900 million rials. In the meantime they were asking for
an advance against that loan of 500 million rials for the purchase of grain and
m order to meet current expenditure they had asked for and obtained from the
A.i.U.C. an advance of the current year’s royalties.
A ppointments — Civil.
the tSsWlS;fJ* Md T "” t * l> ""' “ Under-Secretary ot State in
...ic£i “ Di ~" - 1 "“-
Internal Security.
• A great and possibly lasting change has come over the tribal situation
in the south as is explained .11 more detail*,,, the following paragmphs XhTs
has been brought about by a series of events which have combined to bring home
to the tribes the inadvisability of being associated with the German cause Tip
defeat of the German summer offensive in Russia and tlm • e
victories, the fall of Mussolini, the arrest of Franz Mayer and^he^ppofnTmem
of the staunchly pro-British Qavam-ul-Mulk as Governor-General oPrare al
had a cumulatively persuasive effect. 01 lars a11
Ears.
11 . The result of the meeting mentioned in Summarv No ^Id.^ ^
Guli kba f rT” Kho %°S Vl d Nasir Q ash g ai - General Jahanbani and MorteTa
Quh Khan, Governor of Bakhtiari, was that Khosrow agreed to come to Teh, fl n
on a safe-conduct to discuss matters with the Persian Government The n
o these discussions was that the Government agreed that Khosrow cvnnlrM
made Governor of Firuzabad, that sympathetic consideration won ht h d
Fasir and Khosrow’s land claims, and that the Government would rlP’ 6 " t0
Nasir s election as a Deputy for Firuzabad In return KhL “ ot 0 PP 0se
behalf of himself and Nasir to return alf arms tak4n from Tp 1 ' '^ ° n
to restrain the Qashga, tribes from disorder and robbery to arrest anThand 0 '' 068 ’
any Germans in Qashgai territory, to allow British officials to visit fZlh n ?
sz,y s ik “ ^"sxrs.sx; e fs
12 . This settlement is far from satisfactory from the noint of f
I ersian Government, but as the Persian forces arp Vlew tbe
Qashgai some measures to gain time and to'secure nd ‘ tl ° n to subdu e the
were necessary. It is possible that the Qash<?ai intend tem P orar y truce
to refuse asylum to Germans and perhaps even to break^off""n 7 e 1 nou « h
* l — W »■ «» Bcilick obficc it. V",“S