Coll 28/97 ‘Persia. Diaries. Tehran Intelligence Summaries’ [‎152r] (303/749)

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THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF Hid BRITA
P4 Q j J&frJAN IMf (isp
NlUC BMJES^Y’S GOYERNMENT
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PERSIA.
SECRET.
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December 31. 1943.
E 8164/110/34
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of the Section 1.
Under Seeretary of 9tat#
for Foreign Affairs
Copy No. |2 i
,Sir /?. Bullard to Mr. Eden.—(Received 31,^ December.)
(No. 494.)
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. 49 for the period of the 6 th to the
19th December, 1943, compiled by the military attache to this legation.
Tehran, '20th December 1943.
Enclosure.
Military Attache's Intelligence Summary No. 49, for the period 0th to
\0th December, 1943.
(Secret.)
Persian Affairs.
Political.
1 . Under strong pressure from the Shah, the Prime Minister and the
Cabinet resigned on the 14th December. Soheily was immediately asked to form
a new Cabinet and was obliged to include in it certain Ministers of the Shah’s
own choice and to exclude the only two strong men of the previous Cabinet—the
Ministers for the Interior and for War. The elimination of these two was indeed
the Shah’s main object in insisting on a reorganisation of the Cabinet. His
increasing hostility to General Ahmadi has been mentioned in these summaries
and the latter’s dismissal and replacement by Ibrahim Zand have been interpreted
in some quarters as an indication of the Shah’s desire to please the Russians at
the expense of the British, for General Ahmadi was generally believed to be
pro-British and anti-Russian while Ibrahim Zand, having been educated in
Russia, is credited with being pro-Russian.
2. The new Cabinet is as follows :—
Prime Minister : AH Soheily.(')
Justice : Muhsin Sadr.(')
Foreign Affairs : Muhammad Saed.(')
Finance : Amanullah Ardalan.(')
Interior : Abdul Hussein Hajir.C)
Roads and Communications : Nasridlah Intizam.(')
Agriculture : Nuri Isfapdiari (Muvaffiq es Sultaneh) (F.O. 99).
Education: Issa Saddiq (F.O. 178, M.A. 247).
Posts and Telegraphs : Hamid Sayyah (F.O. 187, M.A. 258).
War : Ibrahim Zand.
Public Health : Dr. Ghani.
Commerce and Industry : Sartip Shefahi (F.O. 190, M.A. 261).
Without Portfolio : Mustafa Adi (F.O. 1, M.A. 1).
The only portfolios that remain in the same hands as in the previous Cabinet
are those of Justice and Foreign Affairs. Of the new Ministers Saddiq, Sayyah
and Adi have held office in previous Cabinets. Zand and Shafai have both
recently been members of the Shah’s personal staff, as was Intizam until he became
a Cabinet Minister in February 1943. Nuri Isfandiari is also a Shah’s nominee.
It is generally thought that this is the Shah’s first step in the experiment of
o-overning the country through a subservient Cabinet as his father did.
The Cabinet resembles those approved by his father, in that it contains no
man of strong character. It is, however, composed of men who, with the
exception of the Prime Minister, have a relatively good reputation for honesty.
In order to gain popular support much is likely to be made of professions of the
Government’s desire to improve the condition of the lower classes, for the mood
P) Members of previous Cabinet.
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