Page 252 - Life of Gertrude Bell

228 GERTRUDE BELL
moved from Tehran to Isfahan. By February 1921 Reza Khan the
Persian Minister of War had staged a coup dUtat and repudiated the
Anglo-Persian treaty to the accompaniment of international pro­
tests that Cox had bribed three members of the Tehran govern­
ment in an effort to gain majority support for Britain’s plans in the
area. Such events did not bode well for Iraq. Nationalist politici­
ans in many parts of the Middle East were beginning to take an
interest in the oil resources of the region, as were foreign coun­
tries and international companies. Though the subject was hardly
ever mentioned officially it certainly played a part in many of the
angry disputes which accompanied Britain’s intervention in
Persia and Iraq, and in the semi-independent Gulf states which
flanked them. Cox was succeeded in Tehran first by Herman
Norman and then by Gertrude’s old friend Sir Percy Loraine. She
was soon giving him friendly advice on the conduct of Persian
affairs.
The year 1921 belonged to Winston Churchill however. What­
ever the consequences which might flow from his actions, nobody
would be able to complain of inertia. As soon as he became
Colonial Secretary at the start of the year he appointed Lawrence
his adviser on Arabian matters. But he took the precaution of
appointing a second adviser to an adjoining office, Colonel
Meinertzhagen die pro-Israelite.

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