Coll 28/97 ‘Persia. Diaries. Tehran Intelligence Summaries’ [‎358v] (716/749)

4
Miandoab. —According consular report, believed to be in rebels’ hands,
but Chief of General Staff believes that the Persian Army garrison of one
battalion is still in control of the town.
Sarah. —In rebel hands, the garrison of one platoon having been
disarmed and made prisoner.
. Ardebil. —No communication by wireless, but Chief of General Staff
believes the garrison of one battalion to be safe though not in command of
the situation. Eight thousand rifles said to have been distributed to
Democrats by the Russians.
Mianeh. —In rebel hands—two lorry loads of rifles said to have been
distributed by the Russians. Pickets of Muhajirs,” Russian speaking and
of a military bearing, control all movement between Tabriz and Mianeh.
Gendarmerie Posts. —Most of these are said to have been disarmed and
captured. There are none remaining between Tabriz and Mianeh.
His Majesty’s Consul-General at Tabriz sums up by saying that, while
reports of fighting have been much exaggerated, the Democratic party really mean
business. The Central Government has no authority whatsoever between Mianeh
and Tabriz, and the Democratic party is in control in every town and village of
eastern Azerbaijan. A clear sweep has been made of the gendarmerie and the
opportunity has been taken to liquidate a number of landlords obnoxious to the
Democrats. What has happened in Mianeh will happen on a bigger scale during
the next week in Tabriz and an autonomous Azerbaijan will have come into being.
13. The People’s Congress has distributed a French translation of their
manifesto to foreign consuls in Tabriz. The document is reproduced as
Appendix A to this summary. i ^ „ T ^
14. Corrigendum (reference paragraph 7 of last Intelligence Summary).—lo
the list of communities actively carrying out Russian designs in Azerbaijan
should of course, be added certain Kurdish elements (chiefly Shakkak and Herki)
and “ muhajirs ” imported from the U.S.S.R. That some Persian Azerbaijanis
support the'Democrat party is not denied, but the paragraph referred to was
designed to show that minorities, disaffected tribal elements and immigrants form
the badkbone of the party.
British Interests.
15 Dr. Mortimer Wheeler, Director-General of Archaeology in India,
arrived in Persia via Zahidan on the 26th October for a four weeks’ tour of
Persia under the auspices of the Indo-Iranian Cultural Society. He visited
Isfahan, Shiraz and Persepolis, but was not permitted by the Russians to proceed
to Meshed via Gunbad-i-Qabus, or even to travel to Meshed by the direct route
by air. The party returned to India via Baghdad.
American Interests.
16. Having sold their railway locomotives and 277 of their oil tank waggons
for the highly satisfactory figure of 85 per cent, of their cost, the Americans aie
considering the sale of their remaining assets on the basis of per cent, of their
original cost. It is proposed to include m this sale, but not on the per cent,
basis, the remaining 184 tank waggons which the Americans have for disposal.
The American proposal would result in a satisfactory o\ erall percentage,
particularly as the buildings and camps, which form the major part of these
assets, would fetch very little in the open market. It would, however, adyei sel>
affect British military disposals if the British were obliged to adopt a similaL‘
figure, firstly because the British have not 1 cashed in on any items comparable
to the American railway assets and, secondly, because they still have for disposal
some valuable material chiefly in the form of harbour installations.
Russian Interests.
17. An A.I.O.C. source in Tabriz considered reliable reports the erection
of an oil drilling rig by the Russians at a hamlet Sennikh (not marked on the
map), some 15 miles from Tabriz on the Tabriz-Marand road.
18. The Moscow press has given prominence to events in Azerbaijan where,
it asserts, genuine democratic and labour movements are being harshly repressed
by Persian military and gendarmerie. It accuses the B.B.C. of falsifying news
of the recent events in order to divert world attention from the discreditab,*
happenings in Palestine and Indonesia.
Tehran, 2bth November, 1945.