Page 209 - Historical Summaries (Persian Gulf - Vol II) 1907-1953

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Consul-General in 1952 when he asked the Americans for Point IV aid. On the
other hand when he is in difficulties as with the Saudis he asks Her Majesty’s
Government to act on his behalf. He is willing to receive a communication from
a foreign power through Her Majesty's Consul-General when there is no other
convenient channel provided it is expressly stated as being made on behalf of the
power concerned but objects if the Consul-General intervenes on his own initiative,
e.g., if he asks for approval to the grant of a visa to the national of a Stale of
whose interests Her Majesty’s Government are not in charge unless he can show
that he has officially been requested to do so by the State concerned. In 1938
he objected when the Iraqi Government issued a commission to the Political Agent
to examine one of his subjects. He subsequently stated that he had no objection
to the Political Agent’s looking after Iraqi interests in Muscat provided he was
officially notified that His Majesty’s Government were in charge of Iraai interests
in his State.(,,u) He was notified accordingly. In 1944 His Majesty’s Minister
at Jedda was asked by the Saudi Arabian Government to forward to a Court in
Muscat a communication from the Shara Court at Mecca. He sent the
communication to the Political Resident who in due course replied that the Sultan
had asked that the case should be referred to him direct by the Saudi Government.
His Majesty’s Minister was then instructed to suggest to the Saudi Government
that they should address a note direct to the Muscat Government and forward it
through His Majesty’s Legation to the Political Resident for delivery.(lll>
68.* An apprehension was previously expressed(,,a) that the Anglo-French
declaration of 1862(n3) might act as an impediment to the lease of Muscat
territory for a naval base in the Musadam peninsula, but the point does not appear
to have been further considered when in 1935 the Sultan’s agreement was obtained
for the use of Ghanam Island (paragraph 87 below) nor to have been raised
when in 1947 a Civil Air Agreement was concluded under which His Majesty’s
Government pay rent for airfields at Salalah, Masirah and Gwadur (paragraph 92
below).

(b) Saudi Arabia
69. So far as is known the present Sultan never entered into any kind of
relations personal or official with the late King Abdul Aziz ibn Saud. He
undoubtedly regarded him as something of an upstart and always feared aggression
at his hands. When boundary negotiations with Saudi Arabia were resumed in
1949 he adhered to the views he had expressed in 1937 about the south-eastern
frontier of that country (paragraph 50 above) and asked His Majesty’s Government
to negotiate on his behalf.(1M) He has always expressed inability to find any
suitable person to represent him in the various talks which have taken place, and
it has been difficult to obtain from him documentary or other evidence in support
of his case, his argument usually being that it is for the Saudis to produce their
evidence first and then for him to rebut it. The Saudis have refused to recognise
his sovereignty over the Buraimi area, the Dhahirah and Oman proper and claim
the right to deal direct with the tribes of these tracts as being independent
(Chapter 5, paragraph 96). As already related (paragraph 42 above) in 1952 they
established an Amir at Hamasah in the Buraimi oasis.

(c) Persia
70. So far as is known the instructions issued by the Persian Government
to the Governor of Bushire in 1928 that persons belonging to and arriving from
Muscat (and also from the Shaikhdoms in the Persian Gulf) are to be considered
Persian subjects and Persian passports issued to them still stand.(ns) The position
is that the Persians do not claim sovereignty over Muscat (nor the Shaikhdoms
other than Bahrain), but have not recognised its form of government and have
no relations with it.(u‘) In 1936 the Persian authorities refused to issue a residence
(•«•) I.O. toF.O. P.Z. 5208/39 of September 9. 1939 (E 6398/6398/91 of 1939).
("*) F.O. to Jedda. 127 (E 5534/5534/91) of October 19, 1944
(,,a) Para. 54 at p. 54, P.G. 13.
(ns) No. 3 V, T.C.
(*«<) Tel. from P.R. toF.O. 214 of May 13. 1949 (E 6057/1535/91 of 1949)
(“») Tel. from Tehran to F.O. 232 of September 28, 1930 (E 5391/2353/91). Cf. para. 6
31 **("•) ^.O. to F.O. 8740/36 of December 9, 1936 (E 7685/2463/91 of 1936).