Coll 28/97 ‘Persia. Diaries. Tehran Intelligence Summaries’ [‎152v] (304/749)

c
of the new Majlis is likely to he critical and suspicious of the Shah s intentions.
It is unlikely to have the docility of the Majlises selected by Reza Shah; nor
has his youthful son his strength of character or singleness of purpose. It is
rumoured that the Shah intends to postpone the opening of the new Majlis for
as long as possible.
3. The Shah, the press and the politically-minded public continue to find
cause for rejoicing in the results of the Tehran Conference, and particularly ii
the three-Power declaration concerning Persia. The latter has certainly greath
relieved public anxiety regarding the position of Persia vis-a-vis Russia after
the war. The declaration does not in fact say anything that had not previously
been said by Great Britain and Russia, and it is presumably the association of
the United States with the assurances that has given such confidence to Persians.
It is to be hoped that the result will lie that they will now concern themselves less
with speculations about the possible intentions of their neighbours and will devote
themselves to putting their very untidy house in order.
4. Both the Shah and the Prime Minister have gained in public esteem,
the latter's hitherto unsuspected statesmanship being given some credit for Persia
having acquired the proud position of being the only country to have been given
a public individual assurance of her post-war position by the three Powers.
5. To commemorate the conference the Tehran Municipality has decided
that three streets in Tehran shall be named Roosevelt, Stalin and Winston
Churchill.
6 . Owing to complaints of irregularities and interference by Government
officials, which led to the dismissal of Bahraini, the chief of the Tehran
Municipality, voting in the Tehran elections was suspended for some days. It has
now been resumed.
Economic.
7. In an interview with the press, Crawford, the American Director of the
Cereals and Bread Department, gave the following figures :—
t
A t 15th Decem ber, A t 15th December,
1943.
1942.
Tons.
T ons.
Undertakings
Deliveries
Stocks in Government stores
312,957
203,405
164,993
152,235
105,584
49.902
Stocks in Tehran—
Wheat, 3.300 tons.
Barley, 7,000 tons.
Flour, 2.300 tons.
Other grains, 2,300 tons.
Daily consumption of Tehran, 250 tons.
Persian Forces.
A rmy.
8 . The Shah is reported by more than one reliable informant to have said
that, having got rid of General Ahmadi from the Ministry for War and
substituted for him a presumably tractable civilian of his own choice, he now
intends to be Commander-in-chief of the Army in fact as well as in name and to
limit the role of the Ministry for War to that of supplying the needs of the army.
He has even been considering the cancellation of the decree whereby the
subordination of the General Staff to the Ministry was made clear. He is still
exalted by the belief that in this he will be supported by the Russians. His
dismissal of General Ahmadi is being represented as a gesture to please the
Russians, and the army is now expecting that the Shah will go a step further in
this policy by substituting General Razmara for General Riazi as Chief of Staff
(see also Summary No. 44, 1943, paragraph 8 ).
9. The Government has now issued regulations defining the duties and
powers of the American military advisers to the Ministry for War. Their duties
are to advise on all matters connected with the administration of the army and to
prepare plans for administrative reform. Their responsibilities extend to those
departments of the Ministry dealing with office work, finance, transport, supply,
engineer, medical and veterinary services, recruiting, military justice and horse
breeding. Of the eleven officers now available, seven are allotted to headquarters