مجموعة ٢٨ /٦٧ "بلاد فارس: تقارير سنوية، ١٩٣٢-" [و‎‎٢‎٥‎٠] (٦٤٤/٤٩٩)

FT
JL * •
PERSIA
1368
February 10, 1940.
CONFIDENTIAL.
1940 j
Section 2.
(15824)
[E 584/584/34]
Copy No.
Sir R. Bullard to Viscount Halifax.—(Received February 10.)
My Lord. Tehran. January 17, 1940.
IN accordance with the instructions contained in your Lordship’s circular
despatch of the 4th November last, I have the honour to submit a political review'
of the past year in Iran. Having arrived only a few days before the end of the
year, I have been unable to contribute anything to this report, which is mainly
the work of Mr. Pink.
2. I am sending copies of this despatch and its enclosure to his Excellency
the Viceroy of India. His Majesty’s Ambassador in Cairo, and the Middle East
Intelligence Centre. Cairo.
I have, &c.
R. W. BULLARD.
Enclosure.
Political Review of the Year 1939 in Iran.
UNTIL the outbreak of war by far the most important event of the year
from the point of view of local opinion was the marriage in April of the Crown
Prince to Princess Fowzieh. sister of the King of Egypt. Admittedly, the
marriage has done little to improve Irano-Egyptian relations, for the Egyptian
visitors made no secret of their disappointment at the poverty and backwardness
of Iran, and their outspoken comments gave great offence here. There have also
been some rather undignified squabbles about the Princess’s dowry. From the
Shah’s point of view, however, the marriage was eminently successful in that it
definitely put the Pahlavi dynasty on the social map.
2. The sending of special delegations headed by such distinguished
personalities as the Earl of Athlone, accompanied by Her Royal Highness
Princess Alice, His Royal Highness the Duke of Spoleto and General Weygand,
gave an air of dignity to the wedding celebrations which might otherwise have
been more remarkable for pomp, ostentation and unpunctuality. I he Shah’s
intention, however, was to impress his visitors, and it may be said that,
considering the limited means at his disposal, he was eminently successful,
particularly since the problems of organisation, always difficult in the East, were
further complicated by the fact that no entertainments in European style on so
large a scale had previously been attempted in Iran.
3. Relations between Iran and the United Kingdom have been cordial,
though the decision of His Majesty’s Government to seize German exports has
caused serious concern to the Iranian Government, and has to some extent offset
the excellent impression made by Her Royal Highness Princess Alice and
Lord Athlone’s visit in the spring. His Majesty’s Government’s policy with
regard to German exports in effect prevents the Iranian Government from
continuing to trade with the one country on which they have hitherto almost
entirely depended for the materials necessary for the carrying out of their
programme of industrialisation. Since the United Kingdom is at present unable
to supply Iran with more than a very small proportion of her needs, it is not
surprising that the Government are both perplexed and indignant at the
workings of a policy under which in effect Iran is no longer able to trade with
her best customer, and has not been offered alternative export or import markets
of any consequence. Since in recent years Germany not only supplied Iran with
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