MOVE INTO IRAN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24696, 27 August 1941, Page 7

MOVE INTO IRAN

A DEFENSIVE RAMPART HITLER’S PLANS UPSET OILFIELDS SAFEGUARDED ■i - (United Press Association) > • ; (By Electric Telegraph—Copyright) (Rec. 10 p.m.) . LONDON, Aug. 25. The Ankara radio says that the Turkish people hope that the possibility of a settlement of the Iran trouble has not been lost. It added that Turkish public opinion supports Iran, and regards the allegations against Iran as incompatible with right and justice, and considers that Iran is defending her independence. Some sections of the Turkish press are •ympatheticrto Iran. The Daily Mail, in a leader, »ay»: “ It is to be v hoped that any opposition will be met with speed and power. We have no time for political battles on the Syrian model, and a settlement is a matter of extreme urgency. Iran is the missing piece in the defensive rampart to keep Hitler from the spoils of Asia. The potential battlefield is the entire eastern hemisphere, with India as its centre, and we must be ready for any eventuality. Hitler wants oil, . and he will throw in everything he has got to reach vr ? the rich oil-bearing triangle of the Caucasus, Iraq ■ .'?■'/1. land Iran." The New York Times says the Secretary of State, Mr Cordell Hull; told a press conference that, the British and Russian, move in Iran can be regarded as Britain and Russia Times says that this is tantamount to i‘lAmerica!s taint approval of the action, and adds that the Administration has begun preparations to ship lease and lend aid to Russia vi£ Iran, thus eliminating friction with Japan, due tol shipments via Vladivostok. The British presumably first seek to occupy the railway as far as Dizf giving protection to the oilfields there and to the pipe linei to the coast and the refineries at Abadan, which in peace-time supply most of the Mediterranean Fleet’s oil and send great quantities to the navy’s China station. The operations in this region are comparatively simple, because of the flat terrain.; but elsewhere most of Iran is mountainous, with few roads or railways suitable for mechanised transport. j RUSSIANS’ OBJECTIVE ’The Russians are expected to make .Tabriz their early objective, because there are a large number of Germans there. They also have a Caspian flotilla with which they will be able to reach Iran’s Caspian littoral districts. One of the Russian objectives on the Caspian littoral will probably be Pahlevi, from which a road leads to gazvin, branching there to Teheran and'lraq.r i! ' ; :•• --V . Further Russian action can be expected from Turkoman, a Soviet Republic; in the direction of Bandarshah and possibly , Meshed. Anglo-Russian strategy presumably has two primary practical objects—-first, to neutralise the Germans in Tabriz, where they are believed to have planned a demand foh an air, base, arid thus provide direct contact between Iraq and Russia; and, secondly, to secure the southern oilfields. The ultimate objective of expelling the Germans from Iran, particularly from Teheran, will be pursued concurrently with these immediate plans. THE IRANIAN VERSION , Declaring that British forces attacked Iran by land, sea and air, the Iranian Premier, Ali Mansur, at an extraordinary session of the Iraniah Parliament, said: “We have taken >UI the necessary measures to face the attack. We have hitherto applied a policy of strict neutrality in every sense to the best of our ability, following a policy of friendship with all countries,.and particularly our neighbours. All the members pf Parliament have approved of the Government’s policy When Britain, in agreement with Russia, sent a memorandum to Iran on July 16 we replied that we were keeping a careful watch on all foreigners, and pointed out that no danger could result from the sfttall number of Germans. Nevertheless, we took special measures to reduce the number of Germans, and did our utmost to satisfy England and Russia. Most regret- , tably, however, British and Russian representatives arrived at my house at 4 a.m. and presented threatening memoranda. British and Soviet troops were already then crossing the frontier. British forces have attacked Iranian ships in port, and bombed and shelled our towns.”

Some resistance has been offered to British forces landing at Bandar Shahpur, at the head of the Persian Gulf, according to the latest information reaching London. It is not yet known how serious vail be the opposition offered to the action, which* .it. has been stated by the British Government, has been taken not against the Iranian Government, but against large numbers of German nationals resident in that country. According to information available in London,-the Iranian army, which is the personal; creation of the Shah Reza' Pahlevi, ‘ himself a ; famous cavalry leader, amounts to some 150,000 men, organised in 18 divisions raised by conscription. .The officers are supplied from cadets of the staff college in Teheran. The equipment of some of the divisions of the army is up to modern standards of training. Their efficiency has been recognised in British military quarters. There arc 25 cavalry, about 50 infantry, and 15 artillery regiments, as well as sappers, signallers and gendarmerie. Tanks of Czechoslovak make are medium and light. The artillery consists of Fofors mountain guns and Skoda field pieces. The communications in Persia are few. but the main railways and roads lead from the northern,

western and southern frontiers to the capital. One line runs from Bandar Shahpur through Amwaz to Teheran, and thence to Asterabad. near the Russian frontier, east of the Caspian Sea. Another runs from the Russian frontier in the Caucasus to Tabriz, after which there is a gap from Zinjan to Teheran. Two main roads, having heavy metalled surfaces good for motor transport all the year round, except for snow blocking in winter, lead from the Russian frontier at Judfa to Teheran, and from the Iraqui town of Khanikin to Teheran. The secondary roads are poor in summer and are often impassable in winter. They lead from Northern Iraq to Soviet Armenia; from Ahwaz, near the oil field, to Kazvin and Teheran: from Pahlevi, on the Caspian Sea, to Kazvin; from Meshed, on the north-east frontier to Teheran; and from Teheran to Shiraz. Rivers running into the Caspian Sea from the Elburz Mountain form military' obstacles to any march along the shore of the Caspian from north-west or north-east, while both the Caspian and Persian Gulf littoral districts are unhealthy. The country is three times the size of France, and is mostly mountainous, particularly in the north and west bordering Russia and Iraq.