Political relations with Iran

This file concerns Iranian relations with the Gulf States. It contains correspondence on:

• Iranian press comment on the British withdrawal from the Gulf, including in Kayhan International, and Ettela’at; an interview given by the Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to the Pakistani newspaper Dawn and extracts from BBC Summary of World Broadcasts on various Iranian radio stations comments on the matter
• Question of the differentiation of the Iranian-Gulf States dispute into different areas, the north being the dispute with Bahrain, and the south being the dispute over the islands belonging to some Trucial States; the question of the difficulty of securing a ‘whole Gulf package’; and the possible linking of the Kuwait-Iraq dispute over the Shatt Al Arab to that of the Iranian dispute
• British Press comment on the Iranian situation, including in the Guardian, and The Times
• Rapprochement of Iran and Saudi Arabia; and the agreement between them over median lines in the Gulf
• Restoration of relations between Iran and the United Arab Republic
• Discussions on Qatar-Iran relations; and an incident between the Iranian Navy and a Qatari hunting party on Farur Island
• Proposed Union of Arab Emirates, and in particular the difficulty of reconciling HMG’s insistence on a Union of nine, and Iran’s opposition to any union including Bahrain
• Contacts between HMG and the US over the Iranian attitude to the Gulf; and the Shah’s visit to the US
• Meetings of Goronwy Roberts MP with various Iranian officials and his interviews with the Iranian press
• Discussions on Muscat-Iran relations
• Various Gulf Rulers’ visits to Iran, including from Qatar, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Dubai
• Discussions on the form of treaties of friendship which HMG intends to sign with the various Gulf States upon departure; and efforts to show an example of the Treaty of Friendship between the UK and Nepal of 1950 to the Shah, to demonstrate the form of future agreements
• Audience of the UK Ambassador to Iran Sir D A H Wright with the Shah over the Gulf issues
• Consultations with King Hussein Bin Talal of Jordan over the Gulf disputes
• Iranian claim of sovereignty over Bahrain