IOR/L/PS/12/2198

Extensive correspondence regarding the trafficking of arms to Persia [Iran], the resumption of arms and (to a lesser extent) slave trafficking in the Gulf of Oman, and the reconstitution of the Persian Navy following the Second World War (1939-1945).

The file opens with reports of arms being smuggled from the Gulf Shaikhdoms to Persian Baluchistan, to be used by tribes hostile to the Persian Government. The correspondence details British concerns that Persia would seek to re-institute patrols in the Gulf of Oman in response, and also includes details of clashes between Baluch tribes and the Persian Government. Also included is correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and the Persian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, regarding a formal request for naval assistance from the British. Details of reported arms-smuggling incidents are found throughout the file.

The bulk of the correspondence concerns the proposed rehabilitation of the Persian Navy, following British action in 1941. The principal correspondents on this topic are the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Foreign Office, the British Ambassador to Persia, and the Persian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The following topics are covered: the occupation of Persian ports by the British; the British use of four Persian gunboats for anti-submarine patrols; the argument that Persia required a navy to police arms and slave traffic; reports of further trafficking in the Gulf; Persian claims for compensation for the ships appropriated or destroyed by the British; the proposed Persian programme for the rehabilitation of their navy, and training of their officers (folios 31-32); and the British counter offer.

The file also includes a small amount of material regarding arms smuggling from the Gulf Shaikhdoms, including: details of investigations carried out in Dubai and Kuwait; summaries of interviews conducted with suspected arms smugglers (folios 104-107, 157-159); and details of a meeting held between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Shaikh of Dubai, and the Majlis, regarding the expulsion of two suspected smugglers from Dubai, and local concerns about the increasing number of slave manumission claims (folios 203-223).

The file includes dividers which give lists of correspondence references found within the file by year. These are placed at the end of the correspondence (folios 2 and 3).