IOR/L/PS/10/1010

This volume relates to the establishment of British consular offices and accommodation at Ahwaz [Ahvaz, also known as Naseri, Khuzestan] during the period 1918-32, proceedings which were particularly driven by: the end of hostilities with the Central Powers (Treaties of Sevres, 1920, and Lausanne, 1923); the increasing activities of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in the wider region; the poor state of existing consular offices rented from the Sheikh [Shaikh] of Mohammerah [Khorramshahr], Sheikh Khazel Khan or Khazal Jaber [Shaikh Khaz‘al bin Jābir al-Kaʾbī, Mu‘izz al-Salṭanah]; and the political necessity of maintaining British prestige in the consular district of Ahwaz.

The papers notably cover and include:

• Deliberations over whether to construct a new building or purchase another outright for the Consulate at Ahwaz, including consideration of a site on the banks of the river Karum [Karun] and the site of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company’s hospital owned by ‘Iraqi’ named Razoogh Bashuri [Rusūkh Bāshūrī?]
• The recommendation in a report of another building suitable for the location of the British Consulate, valued at ‘Tomans [tūmān] 122’, as well as the following: subsequent reports of its unsatisfactory condition; proposals for expansion and improvement; the potential increase in rental costs; sanction of its lease, including a contribution by the Government of India; and clarification of ownership and running costs
• Copy of the lease for the British consular buildings (f 45) (modelled on the lease for the house of the Consul)
• The site of the British consular building (formerly occupied by the Vice-Consul) leased from the Sheikh of Mohammerah, including: a report on plans for construction works (ff 246-250); a copy of the indenture signed by the Secretary of State for India and the Sheikh, dated 16 July 1924 (ff 275-278); and correspondence concerning the disposal of deteriorating unused construction materials, including the ‘breach of contract’ ascribed to the Sheikh for non-disposal (due to his imprisonment by the Persian Government over various disputes), detailed schedules of materials (ff 114-116, ff 126-129; ff 270-274, ff 371-374), and proposals to sell the stone to the Anglo-Persian Oil Company
• The ‘breach of contract’ ascribed to the Sheikh of Mohammerah in relation to unused construction materials at the site of the British consular building, which is explained as a ‘force majeure connected with the Sheikh’s arrest and imprisonment by the Persian [Pahlavī] Government and the embargo subsequently placed on his properties’ (f 33)
• Further explanations of the Sheikh’s agreements and disputes with the Persian Government (ff 57-59), including descriptions of the political, personal, and physical circumstances of the Sheikh of Mohammerah (ff 301-302)
• Sanction for a moiety charged to [British] Imperial revenues covering the rent of a house for HM Vice-Consul at Ahwaz (including water and electricity supplies) at the rate of six hundred krans per month, for the limited period of two years (f 124)
• Assurances from the Indian Political Department at Ahwaz that the Vice-Consul will always be a ‘bachelor’ [unmarried], and recommendations for the abolition of the post in November 1931
• Assessment of the possible damage that may be caused to the building of the Consulate at Ahwaz by the construction of a dam across the river Karun; the building of the Karun dam is considered less likely in favour of works in the region of Shush [Shushtar]
• Correspondence on accounts of expenditure regarding the diplomatic and consular establishments in Persia for the years 1928-29 (ff 109-112).