SHAH AND HIS ADVISERS

Waipa Post, Volume 47, Issue 3386, 28 October 1933, Page 5

SHAH AND HIS ADVISERS

DROPPING THE PILOT. (From a Correspondent lately in Persia.) The resignation of the Persian Minister of the Court, his Highness Abdul Husein Khan Timurtash, was announced on December 24. No reason was given and no statement was made whether the resignation was voluntary or not. Timurtash Khan had been Minister of the Court for six years and has been the brain behind the Persian Government and the most valued servant of the Shah. For the past six months it has been said that Timurtash was on the point of resigning or being dismissed. Yet nothing happened. On the occasion of the Shah's last visit to Mazanderan early in December Timurtash requested the Shah's permission to resign his post. His resignawas not accepted. The usual rumours percolated to the capital. Timurtash was dismissed; Timurtash had resigned; the Shah had thrashed him in public. Yet His Highness appeared as usual in the Council of Ministers at its recent meetings in Teheran. On Friday night, December 23, the Shah sent for him, and at the end of the audience he was no longer Minister of the Court. He has retired to his house outside the Kazvin Gate, and is stated to be indisposed. Although no definite explanation of this "resignation' 'is forthcoming, it can be presumed that at least one of three reasons caused his downfall. The action of the Shah in cancelling the D'Arcy concession could not have met with his full approval. The former Minister of the Court h.s travelled extensively in Europe and knows as much of European methods as any Continental diplomatist. He saw clearly the result of Persia's action and feared that it would eventually damage Persian interests. He is the only man who would dare to tell his Imperial Majesty that he disapproved of the cancellation of the concession. To do so would re to court dismissal, for no greater crime can be committed in Persia than to disagree with the Shah. It has long been evident that Timurtash Khan was the guiding spirit in the Administration. On the rare occasions when the Shah is seen it is evident that the strong and healthy soldier of a year ago is no longer so robust in health. The Shah is some years over 60, which in Persia is the equivalent of 75 in Western countries. That age and ill health may weaken his hold on the country in the next few years is a possibility which he must face and provide for in the near future. The prospect of a Regency occupies his mind to-day. What chance would his 13-year-old son have, should the Regency fall to a man still young, ambitious, and entirely unscrupulous? The safety of the dynasty can be assured only by removing from 1 power all men of outstanding ability and substitution of less striking and less independent figures such as His Highness Mohammed All Khan Faroughi, the present Minister of Foreign Affairs. A domestic reason may also be cited for the downfall of Timurtash Khan. Abdul Hossein Khan Diba, the Controller of the Finances of the Ministry of the Court was dismissed by the Shah less than two months ago. He was an intimate friend of the Minister of the Court; they could be seen gambling together almost every night at the Iran Club in Teheran. Timurtash Khan continued his friendship with Diba Khan. The Shah is said to have viewed his conduct with disfavour, and as Timurtash refused to break with the ex-Controller he was, the presumption is, requested to resign.