Coll 28/97 ‘Persia. Diaries. Tehran Intelligence Summaries’ [‎248v] (496/749)

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4. The Persians who visited Tashkent at the invitation of the Russians (see
Summary No. 49/44, paragraph 2) have now returned and have described their
experience with apparently genuine enthusiasm. They have sung high praise of
the culture, prosperity, contentment, national pride and the respect for and
vitality of the Islamic faith which they found in Uzbekistan.
5. A few Tudeh and pro-Russian papers have been suppressed for unseemly
attacks on the Government and on British policy, but as they have reappeared
under different names no useful effect has been created.
6. In paragraph 4 of Summary No. 1/45 a statement was given of the
Government’s intentions. The laws mentioned in sub-paragraph (/), which it
is intended to revise, are those relating to the formation of provincial and district
councils.
Persian Forces.
Army.
7. The Minister of Finance has tabled a Bill asking for a credit of
approximately 3 million dollars for the purchase of arms and supplies for the
army in the year March 1945-March 1946 and authorising the Ministry for War
to place orders in the United States to the value of that amount.
A ppointments — Military.
8—(i) Sartip Ghulam Ali Ansari (F.O. 22) to be Deputy Chief of the
General Staff.
(ii) Sartip Abdullah Hidayet to be Persian Military Attache in Paris. (It is
not yet certain that he will accept the appointment.)
Internal Security.
9. It is reliably reported that the Shah is becoming increasingly impatient
with the continued existence at liberty of tribal chiefs, such as Nasir Qashgai
and Abdullah Zarghampur of the Boir Ahmadi, who show no sign of recognising
the authority of the Central Government or their duty towards their sovereign,
and it is considered that it may be difficult to restrain him from ordering military
operations to enforce their submission. The Tudeh press continues to attack
tribal chiefs of the south. Morteza Quli Khan is dubbed a Bakhtiari outlaw, but
Nasir Qashgai is the chief villain. The alleged union of the tribes of the south
is said to be connected with the Pan-Arab movement, which was well known to
have been devised as an obstacle to the spread of Russian influence.
Khuzestan.
10. The second stage of the disarmament of the Arabs, which affects the
Bani Tamim and the Bavi, is said to be proceeding satisfactorily and to be nearly
completed.
Russian Affairs.
11. It is reliably reported that the Russians have informed the Persian
Government that they no longer require the production of the Persian munition
factories. It will be remembered that they made a contract for the monthly
supply of a number of rifles and machine pistols and a quantity of ammunition.
A certain amount of each was delivered, but owing to the failure of the Russians
to supply necessary raw materials in adequate quantities and to other causes,
deliveries fell far short of the contracted amounts. The Russians did not seem
to be greatly concerned, and this lent colour to the theory that they were more
interested in making contact with the 5,000-6,000 workmen and in keeping the
British out of the factories than in the munitions that might be produced. They
are now free to stir up trouble among the workmen without damaging their own
interests.
12. There appeared in the Russian-subsidised paper Rahbar a rather
ominous statement to the effect that Russian policy was directed not only to the
crushing of all Fascist States but also to the encouragement of movements among
the working and middle classes of other countries against fascism or reaction and
of the establishment of free national Governments, particularly in those States
along Russia’s borders.