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Coll 34/7 'Slavery: Slave Traffic and Gun-running: Right of search by H. M. ships in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf' [246r] (491/576)
The record is made up of 1 file (286 folios). It was created in 11 Dec 1929-3 Feb 1948. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
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This Document is the Property ot His Britannic Majesty's Government.^
July 2, 1929
Section 7.
No. 1.
PERSIA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
—
[E 3352/95/34]
Sir R. Clive to Mr. A. Henderson.—(Received July 2.)
gj^ 0 * ^ ^ Tehran, June 15, 1929.
WITH reference to my telegram No. 236 of the 6th June, I have the honour to
transmit herewith correspondence which has passed between the Minister of Court and
mvself arising out of the Qashqai revolt.
2. The first letter from Taimourtache refers to two separate questions and contains
(a) a complaint against His Majesty’s acting consul at Shiraz, which, as will be seen
from my letter to his Highness of the 14th June (Enclosure 4), was entirely unjustified,
and (b) what amounts to a complaint against His Majesty’s Government on the ground
that a huge contraband trade, mainly in British arms, was being carried on unchecked
across the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
into Persia in spite of the presence of His Majesty s ships.
“ Comment osent-ils traverser le golfe, oil les bateaux de guerre britanniques sont
presents et se croient en devoir d’empecher la contrebande ? ” In his second letter,
however (Enclosure 3), the Minister of Court almost contradicts this lemark "when he
writes ** je suis loin de 1’idee de vouloir mettre a la charge des bateaux de guerre de
Sa Majeste britannique un devoir qui sort, peut-etre, des cadres de leurs fonctions.”
Again, in reply to my question why, if the Persian Government had good reason to
suspect the smuggling of arms into Persia from a British-controlled area, had they
never drawn the attention of this Legation to the traffic, his Highness sends the quite
illogical reply (illogical in view of his original charges) that as the duty devolves on
Persia of guarding and policing her own territorial waters she has never had any call
to draw the attention of the British Government to the contraband trade in arms on
the high seas.
q’pg impression I have both from laimourtache s two letters and irom
conversations I have had with him on the subject is that (1) the Persian Government
vaguely know that there is a big contraband traffic across the Gulf in sugar and tea;
(2) ihat they have now' jumped to the conclusion that, because the Qashqai tribes are
w'ell armed, they are armed with smuggled British rifles ; (3) they are anxious, as
always, to find a scapegoat on whom to throw the blame. Vv hat more natural than to
blame His Majesty’s Government for anything that goes wrong in South Persia? .
4. His Highness has not, in fact, adduced the slightest proof that arms, British or
otherwise, are being regularly smuggled into the country.^ The Persian Government
have never yet attempted to disarm the Qashqai and the Khamseh tribes, who, so far
as I know, have always been well armed. . .
5. The position regarding the right of His Majesty’s ships to search vessels
suspected of smuggling arms in the Gulf is not clear to me. I was under the
impression that, in view of the articles relating to special zones, which include the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
in the International Arms Traffic Convention of 1925, His Majesty’s ships
had certain police rights in the matter in so far as concerns native vessels of less than
500 tons, although it is true the convention has never been ratified by the Persian
Government. I should be glad to learn therefore to what extent His Majesty’s ships
in the Gulf are authorised to detain and search suspect vessels.
6. In view of the negotiations which I am at present conducting with the Persian
Government for a general settlement of outstanding questions, and more especially
those connected with the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
, I venture to submit that it might be of mutual
advantage clearly to establish with the Persian Government the future attitude of
His Majesty’s ships in this matter. Taimourtache has more than once admitted to me
the value of the presence in the Gulf of His Majesty s ships. Obviouslj’, if it is the
case that a contraband trade in arms is carried on from the Arab coast of the Gulf,
Persia is intimately concerned to see this trade stopped. W ithout the assistance of
His Majesty’s Government she is powerless to do this herself.
Copies of this despatch and of its enclosures have been sent to the Government of
India, His Majesty’s High Commissioner for Iraq, Bagdad, and to His Majesty’s acting
consul-general at Bushire.
I have, &c.
R. H. CLIVE.
[856 b—7]
About this item
- Content
Correspondence, memoranda, minutes, and notes relating to arms and slave traffic in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . Principal correspondents include officials at the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. , Foreign Office, Colonial Office, and Admiralty. Further correspondence, included as enclosures, comes from: the High Commissioner (later, Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. ), Baghdad; the Political Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Bushire; the Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Division; the British Legation, Tehran; Government of India, Foreign and Political Department; Commander-in-Chief of HM Naval Forces, Mediterranean Station; British Legation, Jeddah, and the Board of Trade.
The majority of the file concerns the discussion of arms smuggling in the region, with a particular focus on the right of HM ships to search vessels for arms and slaves. Matters that are discussed include the following:
- Arms traffic across the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. into southern Persia, thought to be supplying the Qashqai rebellion taking place there
- Persian complaints about British sympathy for the Qashqai rebellion
- Revision of naval instructions concerning powers to search and detain vessels in the region
- Arms traffic into Palestine via Akaba [al-Aqaba].
Papers of note included in the file include the following:
- Convention for the Control of the Trade in Arms and Ammunition, and Protocol, signed September 10, 1919 (folios 270-287)
- Record of an interdepartmental meeting held at the Foreign Office on the 24 April to consider the instructions to be issued to the Senior Naval Officers in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , regarding the search by HM ships of Arabian, Persian, and Iraqi vessels for slaves and arms (folios 92-103).
- Extent and format
- 1 file (286 folios)
- Arrangement
The file is arranged in chronological order from the back to the front.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 287; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Coll 34/7 'Slavery: Slave Traffic and Gun-running: Right of search by H. M. ships in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf' [246r] (491/576), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/4094, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100066488402.0x00005e> [accessed 8 July 2026]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/4094
- Title
- Coll 34/7 'Slavery: Slave Traffic and Gun-running: Right of search by H. M. ships in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:246r, 247v:256v, 259r:259v, 266r:269v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence