Persian Gulf

This file relates to reactions in the Gulf to the British withdrawal from South Arabia. It concerns the speech by the British High Commissioner Sir Humphrey Trevelyan in Aden announcing HMG’s intention to negotiate with nationalist forces in South Arabia and contains correspondence concerning:

• Misunderstanding among officers in the South Arabian Army concerning with whom the British are negotiating
• Reaction of the Rulers in the Gulf
• Concerns that the news may undermine Britain’s position in the Gulf
• Leader of Ras Al Khaimah Sheikh Saqr Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi’s call for full political unification in the Gulf
• Public reactions to withdrawal
• Concerns that the decision will encourage nationalism in the Gulf
• HMG’s disavowal of hostile propaganda, and its drawing of parallels between the situation in South Arabia and the Gulf
• Implications of the situation in South Arabia on security in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman

The file also concerns:

• Termination of aid from China to the United Arab Republic in response to the June 1967 Arab-Israel War