IOR/L/PS/12/2800

• The arrest of the Persian [Iranian] Mudir [Mudīr, i.e. Head] of Customs at Basidu [Basa‘idu], who was arrested after claiming Basidu (the location of a British coaling station) and its waters as Persian territory
• The broader issue of the status of Basidu and relations between Britain and Persia
• Lighting and buoying in the Persian Gulf, and British concerns about the visit of a French lights expert who was reportedly taken to Henjam by the Persian gunboat Palang
• Visits of Persian warships to Arab ports
• A report of the visit of HMS Bideford to Tunb and Quoins island [Little Quoin Island].

Included in the file are extracts from standing instructions for the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies (ff 62-63), and an extract from the East Indies Station order book (f 64). The former concern how British naval vessels should operate in Indian waters and in the Gulf, while the latter discusses how vessels should communicate intelligence to the Government of India and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf. Also included is an addition to the standing instructions of Commanders-in-Chief in the Mediterranean, China, the East Indies, Africa, America and the West Indies, concerning the exchange of information between Commanders-in-Chief and HM diplomatic and consular representatives (f 8).

The main correspondents are as follows: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf, and the Foreign Office.