Coll 28/97(1) ‘Persia. Diaries. Tehran Intelligence Summaries.’ [‎208v] (416/807)

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13. Dutch Interests.
Reference Intelligence Summary No. 18 (current), paragraph 6. This
information is now unconfirmed.
14. Machine-Gun Factory An East India Company trading post. . • ‘
Reference Intelligence Summary No. 14 (current), paragraph 9. Good
progress has been made with the building of this factory An East India Company trading post. , and part of the
machinery has been delivered. No experts, either from the former Czecho
slovakia or Germany, have arrived.
15. Credit Loan.
Negotiations are still proceeding in London and Tehran for export credits to
Iran amounting to £5 million sterling.
16. Preventive Intelligence.
A copy of a letter addressed to the Director-General of the G.P.U. at
Moscow, forwarded to one Comrade Petrovsky at Tehran, has been intercepted
and photographed by the French. The letter contained news of Kashgar, and
stated that progress was being made in organising a revolt in Afghanistan and
in India, also that our counter-espionage at Kashgar had been very successful.
The letter was signed by one Inglan, and is thought to have come from Kashgar
or Kabul.
In the letter Comrade Kamarov is mentioned as having unfortunately been
recalled to Moscow. Comrade Joseph at Kashgar has recently been in touch with
Chief Sher Mekhti Khan. A certain Ar .... is also mentioned as a Soviet
agent in Afghanistan (Kabul or Kandahar).
17. Public Opinion.
Pro-Ally Iranian circles continue to state that the major portion of Iranian
current opinion is much in favour of Germany. They frankly say that the reason
for this is the British diplomatic policy of indifference or laissez faire during
the past years. “ Britain has made no effort to prevent the now considerable
German penetration of Iran, nor has she encouraged Iran to take a firmer
attitude with the Soviets. Lastly, she has not made any effort to maintain her
own position.” As a result the prestige of Britain in Iran is, they state, at a
low ebb.
The attitude of the “ man in the street ” is that Britain was responsible for
placing the present Shah on the throne, therefore Britain is to blame for the
present economic distress and troubles in Iran. This last opinion is naturally
fanned by Russian propaganda.
18. Shipping.
On the 10th December at Bandar Pahlevi a dredger named Mazanderan was
launched from the slipways of Messrs. Chikhao and Messrs. Julius Berger (a
German firm). Details of the vessel are as follows :—
Length : 76 metres.
Beam: 13-40 metres.
Length of dredging apparatus : 10 metres.
Draught : 4 metres.
Tonnage: 1,878.
Speed : 9 miles per hour empty.
Motors : 3,000 c.v., of which 1,150 c.v. is used by dredging machinery.
Dredging capacity : 800 cubic metres of sand or mud per hour.
At the launching ceremony reference was made to the necessity of dredgers
in view of the inexplicable recedence of the Caspian Sea within recent years (see
Intelligence Summary No. 25 of 1938, paragraph 17).
H. J. UNDERWOOD, Lieutenant-Colonel,
Military Attache.