The King

32. The Country Prays for the Persian Gulf

The British dared not show their faces outside the walls of the port cities. As soon as they did they came under fire.

The vizier, who was seriously wounded, was being cared for in the castle of the tribal leader. The local physician succeeded in removing the bullets from his body. After a month of treatment the vizier was still weak and unable to stand. When he was finally given permission to leave his sickbed he tried to walk by leaning against the castle’s long walls. He was well looked after by the devoted old women of the Bakhtiari tribe, and gradually he regained his strength. Early one morning, much to everyone’s delight, he even managed to heave himself onto his horse and cautiously pick his way across the pastureland.

For the vizier this period was a low point. He had to think of a way to get the British out of the country. With the help of a few powerful men he managed to raise a small army of martyrs. He told the warriors they would have to fight the mightiest country in the world with their daggers and outdated weapons, but that this had been decreed by history. He emphasised that while a victory was impossible, the whole aim of the mission was to torment the occupying forces. The martyrs were ready for anything.

When the vizier was sufficiently recovered he and his martyrs advanced on Bandar Abbas. Any confrontation with the enemy was prevented by the enormous barricades that the British had erected in the harbour area and by the artillery in the hills.

‘Be patient and impede the enemy wherever you can,’ the vizier instructed his warriors. ‘Your only weapon is waiting, waiting and waiting some more.’

Indeed it was time that was Britain’s Achilles heel. The factories in England were gasping for fuel, while millions of litres of crude oil lay unused in the Persian soil. England was in a hurry.

But the dangerous situation in the Persian desert was keeping the British from getting any closer to the sites they had considered for further soil research. The martyrs lay in wait day and night among the tall date palms, their guns in hand, or they sat motionless with their daggers in the mud.

The British thought their ships were safe in the Persian Gulf, but more and more of the vizier’s men were willing to take to the water and jeopardise their lives by climbing onto the ships in the dark of night.

Stories of the warriors’ heroic deeds spread throughout the region and heartened the inhabitants of the occupied port cities. The resistance gained wider and wider support. The British could no longer go out at night without risk.

The British realised they would have to make use of their experiences in India. They would have to negotiate with the Persians. Long-term security and stability were essential if they were to keep on searching for oil and digging wells, guaranteeing the supply of black gold to England. To everyone’s astonishment the British unexpectedly withdrew from both port cities. They sat in their big cargo ships in the Persian Gulf and waited for instructions from London. The prayers of millions of people in the mosques had been granted. The vizier had scored a success.

Late one afternoon diplomats from the British Foreign Office paid a visit to the residence of the Persian representative in London. They had been meeting more frequently lately. The Persian representative received them with tea and refreshments, and they sat down at the table to see how England and Persia might do business.

Shortly thereafter the vizier received a telegram that had been sent from a British ship. It took a while for his eyes to adjust to the unfamiliar typescript. He picked up his glasses and read the report. Then, without delay, he sent a message to the shah.

Glory be to God, He who possesses exalted power and might. He is all-knowing, and nothing is hidden from His eyes — not anything that is whispered, nor anything that is concealed through silence. He sees all, and nothing exceeds his power, neither on earth nor in heaven. He is the ruler of all. The shah is the first to whom the vizier may send these glad tidings. We have reached an accord with England concerning a ceasefire. The British are prepared to discuss both Herat and the raw materials in the south. Next week we will speak with a British delegation in Bandar Abbas. The shah will be immediately informed as soon as anything concrete has been achieved.

Respectfully yours, the vizier.