Third Parliament and Secret Police Reports on Rumors in Tehran (April-July 1915)

The present paper was prepared based on the reports by Tehran's secret police for Abdul-Hossein Farmanfarma, the Minister of Interior in the cabinet of Eyn ud-Dowleh during the Third Parliament. The Third Parliament was inaugurated in December, 1941, a few months after the outbreak of World War I. The Parliament lasted only 11 months, during which it was affected by issues caused by the war.The war created discord between the politicians and the parliament members. Some were supporters of Russia and England, while some others, such as democrats and their allies, were supporters of Germany and the Ottoman Empire. The dissension practically divided the county. The issue of security was very important in this case. The secret police reported all kinds of rumors and news of the capital, especially those related to political and governmental affairs. It also reported the movements of dignitaries, the position of the press, and the activities of embassies. A significant point was the activity of the Ottoman embassy that criticized the Minister of Interior through the press. Farmanfarma was also criticized by the Democratic Party, which was a supporter of the Ottoman government in the war. He was eventually impeached in the parliament. In the midst of the war, a Turkish commander, Rauf Orbay, entered Qasr-i Shirin and advance to Sarpol-i Zahab on March 24. The situation in Kermanshah became completely chaotic. Before any measure by the new government of Eyn ud-Dowleh, the governor of Kermanshah resigned and worsened the situation. In June, the Democrats impeached Farmanfarma, and the cabinet and Eyn ud-Dowleh resigned.The Democrats were against Farmanfarma since the Constitutional Revolution. Farmanfarma had governed Azarbaijan, Kermanshah, and Kurdistan on several occasions and was familiar with the policy of the Ottomans and their objectives towards Iran, to which he was strongly opposed. Now, in support of the Ottomans and without reference to the movements of the Turks, the Democrats impeached the Minister of Interior on the pretext that he had demonstrated negligence. It was then that Eyn ud-Dowleh resigned. The history of the relationship between Farmanfarma, on the one hand, and the Democrats and the Ottoman government, on the other, led to this event, which is highly illustrated by the police reports.