THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES Thursday, September 18, 1941. SHOW-DOWN IN IRAN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24715, 18 September 1941, Page 6

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES Thursday, September 18, 1941. SHOW-DOWN IN IRAN

Under the terms of armistice prepared by the British and Soviet Governments and accepted by the Government of Iran on September 8, consent was given by the latter to the closing of the German, Italian, Rumanian and Hungarian legations and to the handing over of all German nationals in the country to the British and Soviet authorities. It was also agreed that Iranian troops should be withdrawn from certain key points which were to be occupied by the Allies. Both from London and from Moscow it was made clear that the Allies had no intention,of changing the territorial status of Iran or of establishing special spheres of influence. The whole purpose of the military action was to end a state of affairs in which Iran was being used as headquarters of a Nazi cell of military and diplomatic influence in western Asia. It now appears that the Shah Riza Pehlevi and certain pro-Axis elements associated with him 'were openly conniving in this development. As early as July 29 Mr Eden had warned the Shah that Allied action would become imperative unless the requests in the AngloRussian Notes, to expel all Axis agents, met with prompt compliance. Events have since shown that, although the terms of armistice were accepted by the reconstructed Government and approved by the Iranian Parliament, the Shah himself persisted in an obstructionist policy, presumably in the hope that the German drive into the Ukraine would yet make sufficiently swift progress to foil the Allied move in Iran and save the regime from collapse. But again the Allies have forestalled the Axis attempt to maintain a hold on Persia. Allied pressure, aided by popular feeling against the regime, has compelled the Shah to abdicate, Russian and British forces are linking up in Teheran, and every opportunity is to be given for Iran to adopt a truly democratic form of government which will bring the country into full and effective collaboration with the Powers confronting the Axis. The importance of this latest Anglo-Russian move is not to be under-estimated. When the joint action was first taken to stop Nazi penetration into Iran it was estimated that the number of German technicians and " tourists" in Teheran and. elsewhere was already upwards of 3000. The Nazi network in the Middle East had -shifted to Teheran after the British occupation of Iraq and Syria, foremost among the early arrivals being the Iraqi usurper Rashid Ali and the exiled Mufti of Jerusalem. Within a few weeks these and other enemy agents who were working under cover of the German Legation were joined by the members of the notorious Nazi espionage and propaganda group which had been operating in Syria under Otto von Hentig's leadership. There were even reports of a Nazi-sponsored plot to overthrow the Shah's Government and set up a wholly pro-Axis regime after the style of the short-lived Government established by Rashid Ali in Iraq. The swiftly-taken Allied initiative foiled these designs and, in its completed form, will have the effect not merely of stemming a most dangerous strategic drift affecting the security of the entire Middle East, but of actually establishing a continuous British Russian front stretching from the Indian Ocean to the Arctic.

The occupation of Iran in fact throws into bold relief the whole comprehensive pattern of Allied strategy in the Mediterranean area. Where the German bid for domination of the Ukraine and the Crimea is concerned it will have the effect of placing British forces in the Middle East within easy reach of the Baku oil fields and the Caucasus, should they be required to strengthen Russian resistance in those vital theatres. Again, the newly-finished trans-Iranian railway, linking Bandar Shapur on the Persian Gulf and Bandar Shah on the Caspian Sea, will give invaluable access to Soviet Russia for British and American supplies. Furthermore, the existence of a continuous Allied front from Russia via the land routes between the Black and Caspian Seas to the Middle East will have the effect of blocking German attempts at penetration farther east, including what has been described as any eventual " hands-across-Asia " move, aimed at securing overland contact with Japan. It will be seen, therefore, that the strong action taken by the Allies in Iran, even to the throwing down of the Shah's regime, has to be viewed as an integral part of Allied strategy in countering Hitler's every move to seize and control sources of supply wherever these may be located.