IOR/L/PS/12/525

The file comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and notes, relating to the welfare of the relations of the late Shaikh of Mohammerah as well as the activities of Shaikh Chasib, eldest son of the late Shaikh of Mohammerah (Shaikh Abduallah Khazal).

The discussion in the file relates to the guarantee given in a letter (see folios 155 and folio 151) ) by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Stuart George Knox; Percy Zachariah Cox) to the Shaikh of Mohammerah in 1914 shortly before and after the outbreak of war with the Ottoman Empire. The substance of this guarantee was that if the Shaikh cooperated with the Amir of Najd and the Shaikh of Kuwait in the capture of Basra from the Ottoman Turks, then the Shaikh and his male descendants would be supported against encroachment on his jurisdiction from the Persian government, whether it be royalist or nationalist. Furthermore, his date gardens on the Turkish side of the Shatt al-Arab would remain in the possession of the Shaikh and his heirs and exempt from taxation in perpetuity.

Further discussion surrounds the establishment of the genuineness of the letter, as well as the implications for the British government of admitting this claim for protection and what measures could be taken to enforce it. Also discussed is the attempt by the Shaikh to foment rebellion against the Persian Government in Khuzistan and the measures taken by the Iraqi Government to stop this.

The principal correspondents in the file include the Political Agent, Kuwait (Major Maurice O'Connor Tandy); the Secretary of State for India, London; HM Ambassador, Tehran; HM Ambassador, Baghdad; and the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

The file include two dividers, which give a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence.