Interest of Iraq in Persian Gulf

This file relates to Iraqi activity in the Gulf. It contains correspondence, newspaper cuttings and press extracts concerning:

• The question of Iraq's relationship with the Free Baluchi Movement
• Visits to Gulf States by Iraqi delegations of trade, health, education and labour officials
• Iraq's search for financial aid from Abu Dhabi
• Iraq's offer to supply doctors and teachers to Sharjah
• An Iraqi trade mission to Bahrain; and the proposed establishment of an Iraqi trade office in Abu Dhabi by Rashid Aweida
• An attempt by Ambassador H G Balfour-Paul to foresee the course of Iraqi policy in the next two years on the assumption that the Ba'ath Party remains in power and it continues to align with the Soviet Union; and a subsequent attempt by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf R S Crawford to assess Iraqi intentions towards the Gulf States
• The problem of Iraqis entering the Trucial States without visas and the views of Gulf Aviation Company Limited
• A Baghdad Radio broadcast criticising Qatar for trying to extrude Bahrain from the Union of Arab Emirates
• Iraq's preparations for Britain's withdrawal from the Gulf in 1971
• Ajman's eagerness to accept Iraqi aid, including a doctor, midwife, surveyor, civil engineer and teacher
• An article in Ba'ath Party newspaper Al Thawra alleging a British plot to retain its hold on the Gulf even after withdrawal
• A proposed meeting between representatives of the broadcasting services of Kuwait, Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Iraq to discuss programmes for 'protecting the Arabism of the Gulf'
• A statement by President Ahmad Hasan Al Bakr on the second anniversary of the Ba'ath revolution, declaring that Britain must withdraw totally from the Gulf
• An invitation for the Trucial States to send representatives to the anniversary celebrations of the Iraqi revolution on 14 July
• Iran's rejection of the Iraqi President's proposals for an all Arab defence pact for the Gulf
• The arrest of Saif Bin Rahmal Al Shamsi in connection with an assassination attempt; and the interrogation of Ras Al Khaimah suspects in Abu Dhabi
• Evidence of a subversive cell in the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF)
• Developments in the conflict in Dhofar in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman
• Iraqi policy in connection with the Union of Arab Emirates, any consequent military or political alliance, HMG's withdrawal from the Gulf, the situation in Oman, the dispute over Abu Musa and the Tunb Islands and the Arab-Israel problem
• Iraqi criticism of the United Arab Republic
• A visit to Iraq by W H T Luce
• A meeting between Balfour Paul and the Iraqi Foreign Minister Abdul Karim Al Sheikhli.