Coll 28/120 ‘Persia. Ahwaz – Consular diaries.’ [‎39r] (78/669)

A
gang raided the Anglo-Iranian )il Cocnpany telephone house at
mile 27 of the pipe-line, some ten miles south of the Behhehan
road. Colonel Zarrahi has placed responsibility for the major
offence on Abdulla Khan Zargharnpur (vide para 6 of Ahwa z diary
for 15th - 30tn September) who has apparently been impressed by
the Persian reinforcements of Behbehan and has reopened
negotiations with the Colonel * The surrender of the culprits
and the return of the stolen property has been made a condition
precedent to further discussions.
The long awaited reinforcements for the Behbehan
garrison arrived in Ahwaz on 16th and 17th October and as the
Persian authorities were unable to provide vehicles were
ferried to Behbehan in ten lorries provided by the British
Military authorities. In conversations with his Majesoy
Consul-General, Colonel Zarrabi had revealed that he intended
tc use his troops in operations against the tribes rather than
in protecting the road which is unquestionably the main
British interest in the area, and in spite of representations
urging the necessity of restoring security on the road has at the
end of the month not moved his trooos out of Behbehan. "'he
contribution of Colonel Pur-i-Hastegar to the problem has been
to ’'reoccupy'* three of the ahandon%ed gendarmerie posts on the
Gach Paran road with twenty-eight men who will be lucky to^
retain their rifles until the arrival of regular ililitary forces.
In ohe meantime a confused shooting affray at Fasanun on the
night of 22nd October together with the general local appre
hension has caused considerable numbers of the Anglo-Iranian
Oil Company staff to desert their work at Pazanun which is of
major importance to the war effort. Further representations are
being made, however, and a promise has been given to estaolish
Persian military camps at various points on the road within the
week.
The sheikhs of the Beni Turuf (vide para 6 of Ahwaz
diary for 1st - 15th October) have brought in the sheikhs of the
Chenar.eh, Xhasraj and Bet Rashid sections for conversations
with Colonel Zarrabi. n he Colonel's hand had been strengthened
by the (to the British authorities, unexpected) arrival in
Dizful of a battallion of infantry together with a mountain
battery and one or two squadrons of cavalry, and he demanded^
from the sheikhs the return of certain stolen property and the
surrender of a quantity of arms. He apparently proposes to take
a cciumn into the Karkheh and idianab areas to enforce his
demands. All three sections are notorious raiders and a scurse
of serious trouble to the villages on the left bank and the
Dizful-Shushtar area; up tc the present, however, they have
caused no trouble to the British lines of communication and a
Persian column .n their area might have serious consequences.
Parajuilah Khan Kayan (vide para 6 of Ahwaz diary^for
15-C0th September) is becoming so unpopular that it seems unli
kely he will prove of much use to the Persian authorities as
unoi'icial military governor of the Janiki area. He has now
quarrelled with Mahmood Khan Chabarlang, and the military
governor of the Bakhtiari is unable tc recover the arms made over
to i/.ahmcod Khan for maintaining security in the Dalun area.
7. Communications -
The /uiglo-Iranian Oil Company’s port installation for^
the loading of tankers at Bandar Mashur has now been commissioned.
The two first tankers were loaded and cleared in the period
under review.
Ahwaz, 4th November 1942-
Sgd. A.E.H. MACANN
H« iAr 0 ON SUL - GNN ORAL.