Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T16:18:09.091Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Anglo-Iranian Treaty Negotiations: Reza Shah, Teymurtash and the British Government, 1927–32

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Chelsi Mueller*
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Historical Studies and Alliance Center for Iranian Studies of Tel Aviv University, Israel

Abstract

From 1927 to 1932, wide-reaching negotiations took place between Reza Shah’s court minister, ‘Abdolhossein Khan Teymurtash, and the British Legation in Tehran, the aim of which was to resolve all outstanding issues and to normalize relations between the two countries on the basis of a general treaty. This article examines these Anglo-Iranian negotiations with a particular focus on the thorniest issues—Iran’s territorial claims in the Persian Gulf, particularly its claims to sovereignty over Bahrain, Abu Musa and the two Tunb islands. Though an agreement was never reached, an examination of the content and conduct of these negotiations offers some valuable insights into the unique features of Iranian nationalism and Iranian ambitions in the Persian Gulf during the Reza Shah period.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The International Society for Iranian Studies 2015

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alvandi, Roham. “Muhammad Reza Pahlavi and the Bahrain Question, 1968–1970.” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 37, no. 2 (2010): 159177. doi: 10.1080/13530191003794723CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bayandor, Gholam ‘Ali. Khalij-e Fars. Khorramshahr, 1317 (1938); Reprint. Tehran: Bonyad-e Mowufat-e Doktor Mahmud Afshar, 1388 (2009).Google Scholar
Bidwell, Robin Leonard, Bourne, Kenneth, and Watt, Donald Cameron, eds. British Documents on Foreign Affairs—Reports and Papers from the Foreign Office Confidential Print. Part II, From the First to the Second World War, Series B, Turkey, Iran, and the Middle East, 1918–1939. Frederick, MD: University Publications of America, 1985.Google Scholar
Bulletin of International News. Vol. 4. Royal Institute of International Affairs, Information Department, 1927.Google Scholar
Burrell, R. M., and Jarman, R., eds. Iran Political Diaries 1981–1965. 14 vols. London: Archive Editions, 1997.Google Scholar
Cronin, Stephanie. The Army and the Creation of the Pahlavi State in Iran, 1910–1926. London: I.B. Taurus, 1997.Google Scholar
Ghani, Cyrus. Iran and the Rise of Reza Shah: From Qajar Collapse to Pahlavi Power. New York: I.B. Taurus, 2000.Google Scholar
Government of India, Foreign Department. Persian Gulf Administration Reports, 1873–1957. Reprint. Calcutta: Archive Editions, 1986.Google Scholar
Gozideh-ye Asnad-e Khalij-e Fars: Jazayer-e Khalij-e Fars. Vol. 1. Tehran: Daftar-e Motala‘at-e Siyasi va bayn al-Milali, 1372 (1993).Google Scholar
Haworth, Lionel. “Persia and the Persian Gulf.” Journal of the Royal Central Asian Society 16, no. 4 (1929): 495509. doi: 10.1080/03068372908725078Google Scholar
Government, HM, Office, Cabinet. “Historical Summary of Events in the Territories of the Ottoman Empire, Persia and Arabia Affecting the British Position in the Persian Gulf, 1907–1928” (PG 13). London: Committee of Imperial Defence, October 1928. Reprint, Archive Editions, 1987.Google Scholar
Kashani-Sabet, Firoozeh. Frontier Fictions: Shaping the Iranian Nation, 1804–1946. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999.Google Scholar
Katouzian, Homa. State and Society in Iran: The Eclipse of the Qajars and the Rise of the Pahlavis. London: I.B. Tauris, 2006.Google Scholar
League of Nations. Official Journal. 21 vols. Geneva: League of Nations, 1920–1940.Google Scholar
Male, Mohammad. “Oil in Iran between the Two World Wars.” in Anglo-Iranian Relations since 1800, edited by Martin, Vanessa, 128136. London: Routledge, 2009.Google Scholar
Onley, James. “Britain’s Informal Empire in the Gulf, 1820–1971.” Journal of Social Affairs 22, no. 87 (2005): 2945.Google Scholar
Qajar, Mohammad ‘Ali Bahmani. “Naqsh-e Niru-ye Daryayi va Bayandor dar Ekhraj-e Engelisha az Hengam va Basa‘idu.” Faslnameh-ye Motala‘at-e Tarikhi, no. 27 (Winter 1388/2009): 81111.Google Scholar
Ramazani, Rouhollah K. The Foreign Policy of Iran: A Developing Nation in World Affairs, 1500–1941. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1966.Google Scholar
Rezun, Miron. “Reza Shah’s Court Minister: Teymourtash.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 12, no. 2 (September 1980): 119137. doi: 10.1017/S002074380000043XGoogle Scholar
Rezun, Miron. The Soviet Union and Iran: Soviet Policy in Iran from the Beginnings of the Pahlavi Dynasty until the Soviet Invasion in 1941. Leiden: Institut Universitaire de Hautes Études Internationales, 1981.Google Scholar
Soleimani, Karim, and Rad, Michael Vahidi. “Muzakarat-e naft-e Iran va Engelis va Tajdid-e Nazar dar Qarardad Darsi dar Dowreh-ye Riza Shah.” Tarikh-e Iran, no. 64/5 (Spring 1389/2010): 7198.Google Scholar
Zargar, Aliasghar. “A Historical Review of British Role [sic] in Iran–Iraqi Dispute [sic] on the Shatt al-Arab Waterway.” International Journal of Political Science (Tehran) 1, no. 2 (Summer and Fall 2011): 2135.Google Scholar