Coll 28/97(1) ‘Persia. Diaries. Tehran Intelligence Summaries.’ [‎249v] (498/807)

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13. Danish Interests.
Reference Intelligence Summary No. 11 (current), paragraph 8 . The Danish
fishing trawler Crete Knopper arrived in Bandar Abbas on the 24th June and
sailed for Khorramshahr on the 30th June to be laid up for the summer.
14. Trans-Iranian Railways.
The Anglo-Iranian Oil Company supply all the locomotive oil fuel for the v
State Railways. This is delivered at Ahwaz and the distribution undertaken by
the State Railway authorities.
15. Public Health.
The Department of Public Health have a large construction programme of
hospitals throughout Iran for the year 1940-41. The principal items of this are
the construction of a hospital of 500 beds at Tehran, this building is situated
500 yards west of the Jelalieh race course and faces south-west. It is already
in an advanced state of construction.
A hospital of 100 beds in Isfahan, and one of similar capacity in Shiraz, and
twenty-six other hospitals are also under construction throughout the provinces.
16. Enemy Propaganda
German oral propaganda continues active throughout Iran and an anti-
British feeling is being fomented by a well-trained body of German agents. The
latter are, it would appear, striving to encourage discontented Iranians who form
so large a percentage of the population to believe that most of the evils, economic,
administrative, Ac., from which Iran is now suffering are directly attributable
to the baleful influence exercised over the Shah, his Ministers and other officials
by the British. The British, too, are alleged to be responsible for Reza Shah’s
accession to power and to have encouraged him in his profligate and wasteful
expenditures of the country’s resources during the past fifteen years; the misery,
ruin, economic difficulties, high taxation, and increased cost of living are there
fore directly the result of British evil influence. There is reason to believe that
an increasingly large number of Iranians are ready to believe this.
The local press is on the whole hostile. German and Italian news items are
in most cases greatly in excess of British. Such articles as are writteU oh the
world situation tend to exert an anti-British influence on local readers.
German newspapers, and a well-produced propaganda picture paper called
Signal, are on sale from newsagents. The latter paper is becoming increasingly
popular. # «
Persian broadcasts from Berlin continue to exercise a powerful influence over
Iran and are largely instrumental in convincing the people of British weakness
and the certainty of an eventual German victory.
17. Communications.
(i) M.T. Routes in Iran, Route 1, Section D. Kerej-Tehran, mile 489^.
From this road junction a new road has been constructed and joins the city
boundaries at the Tehran university buildings, mile 506. It is completely
asphalted.
(ii) M.T. Routes in Iran, Route 113. Shiraz-Yezd, via Dehbid and Surmaq.
A note on this route is given as an appendix to this summary.^)
(iii) M.T. Routes in Iran, Route 13. Kuchan-Meshed. A note on the road
alignment is given as an appendix.(')
(iv) Birjand-Duruh, via Sarbisheh. A note on this route is given as an
appendix to this summary.^)
(v) M.T. Routes in Iran, Route 116. Shiraz-Lingeh, Shiraz-Bandar Abbas.
Notes on these routes are given as appendices to this summary.^)
H. J. UNDERWOOD,
Tehran, July 27, 1940. Militar y A ttachL
( l ) Not printed.
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