Coll 28/97(1) ‘Persia. Diaries. Tehran Intelligence Summaries.’ [‎293v] (586/807)

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3. Iranian A ir Force.
(i) Sixty lio'ht aircraft machine £tm s (Colts) have been purchased in the
United States.
(ii) Exercises are being carried out with the six searchlights and sound
detectors recently purchased from Sperry and Co., United States.
4. British Interests.
Reference Intelligence Summary No. 5 (current), paragraph 4 (i). Two
members of the British personnel of the aircraft factory An East India Company trading post. (not included in the three
who had been given notice) propose to leave shortly because of the insecurity of
tenure.
5. German Interests.
(i) Messrs. Schenker—the big German transport firm—us organising a motor
transport route for goods to and from Iran via Tabriz, Erzerum and the port
of Trebizond.
(ii) There are signs that the Germans were taken by surprise by the crisis
in Iraq, but that they quickly recovered and hope to take advantage of the
situation which, from their point of view, has greatly improved.
6 . Japanese Interests.
(i) On the 8 th April his Excellency M. Hikotaro-Ishikawa, the new Japanese
Minister, was received in audience by H.I.M. the Shah, to whom he presented his
letters of credence.
(ii) On the 5th April Colonel Murasawa, Japanese military attache,
proceeded to Berlin via Moscow.
7. Italian Interests.
In view of the urgent need of shipping for carrying wheat, &c., to Iran, it
was suggested to the Imperial Government by His Majesty’s Legation that they
should requisition the four Italian ships now lying in Iranian waters, viz.,
steamship Hilda at Bandar Abbas, steamship Barbara, steamship Bronte and
steamship Caboto at Bandar Shahpur. Two of these ships would then be
chartered by the British. The Imperial Government are, however, so much afraid
of offending the Axis Powers that the Prime Minister has decided to drop the
matter.
8 . U.S.S.R. Interests.
(i) The following Soviet armed vessels are reported to be at Baku : —
Molodietz.
Krabei.
Tchepaief.
Also four motor patrol vessels, Nos. 12, 16, 24 and 25, armed with a light
gun and machine gun. Four similar craft are based on Krasnovodsk.
(ii) The Volga-Don canal is impracticable in winter. The oanal is 45 kilom.
long, and permits of the passage of boats up to 500 tons. Between Donskaja and
Stalingrad there are many locks.
(iii) About 150 Estonian sailors have recently been repatriated from the Far
East to Soviet Russia via Iran.
(iv) Electric trains now run between Batum and Tiflis.
(v) The railway line between Poti and Touage is nearing completion.
(vi) The Baku-Julfa line along the Aras River is not yet completed.
9. French Interests.
(i) On the 8 th April two young French officers, who had escaped from a
prisoners of war camp in Germany, passed through Tehran from Moscow on
their way to join the Free French Forces in Egypt, A brief note of their views
is given as an appendix to this summary.(')
(ii) Reference Intelligence Summarv No. 7 (current), paragraph 6 . The
French Minister, who left Tehran on the 1st April on transfer to Athens, is
( l ) Not printed.