IOR/L/PS/10/1105

The volume comprises correspondence, memoranda, drafts, and minute papers relating to political events in Persia [Iran]. The majority of the papers consist of telegrams and regular reports concerning the evolving political situation in the country, sent to the Foreign Office by the British Minister in Tehran, Sir Percy Lyham Loraine, or the Chargé d'Affaires, Esmond Ovey, when the Minister was absent.

The papers notably cover the following:

• The emergence and eventual failure of a republican movement in Persia in the early part of 1924
• Resistance within the country to the idea of a republic, leading to the storming of the Majlis [legislative assembly, also written as Mejlis] by anti-republicans in March 1924
• The resignation of Reza Khan [Reżā Shāh Pahlavī] as Prime Minister in April 1924
• Reza Khan's return and his ascension to the position of Shah following the legal abolition of the Kajar [Qājār] dynasty on 31 October 1925
• The British discussion of, and response to, these events, including the question of maintaining a policy of non-interference
• Reaction to events from within Persia and from other foreign powers.

Less prominent matters covered within the volume include:

• Arms imports into Persia
• Relations between the USA and Persia, including the perceived unpopularity of US advisers in the country
• The potential of republicanism spreading to Afghanistan
• The reaction in Turkey to the idea of a Persian republic
• Oil concessions in Persia, in particular the Northern Oil Concession to Sinclair and Company [Sinclair Oil Corporation]
• The separatist movement in Arabistan [Khuzestan] and its defeat by the Persian Army led by Reza Khan in November 1924
• Bolshevik influence in Persia
• Routine political events such as the opening of parliamentary sessions and changes to the Cabinet.

Other correspondents include: Godfrey Thomas Havard, Oriental Secretary, Tehran [also written Teheran]; Major William Archibald Kenneth Fraser, British Military Attaché, Tehran; Lord Crewe [Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe], British Ambassador to France; Edmund St John Debonnaire John Monson, Embassy Counsellor, Tehran; the Government of India, Foreign and Political Department; Sir Ronald Charles Lindsay, British Ambassador to Turkey; Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Beville, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; Lieutenant-Colonel Lionel Haworth, British Consul-General Meshed [Mashhad]; H G Chick, British Consul, Shiraz; Noel Patrick Cowan, British Consul, Kermanshah; and Bernard Gilliat-Smith, British Consul, Tabriz.

The volume contains a number of newspaper cuttings and extracts, including those from The Times, Shafagh Sorkh [Shafaq-e-Surkh], and Le Messager de Teheran (in French).