Internal political situation in Muscat and Oman

This file contains correspondence relating to:

• Formulation of a line of reply to press enquiries about the latest military operations in Oman and the extent of the British involvement in them (443)
• Summary of a discussion by the Chiefs of Staff Committee regarding future action in Oman, along with a draft minute to the Minister of Defence on this topic (444)
• Telegram from and a conversation with the US Consul General at Dhahran, in which he asserted that no unusual movement of Omanis to eastern Saudi Arabia had been noticed, nor any recruitment or military training of Omanis been reported (446)
• Report by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf B A B Burrows of a discussion with the Consul General in Muscat and the Sultan of Muscat and Oman Saeed Bin Taimur regarding the situation in Oman. It also contains a brief produced for the Prime Minister for the discussion of Burrows' report at a meeting of the Defence Committee (447)
• Appointment by the Arab delegates to the UN of Shuqairi and Zieneddin, the Saudi and Syrian delegates, to investigate the prospect of raising the question of Oman in the General Assembly (448)
• Request from George Wigg MP for assistance in replying to a letter from one of his constituents, who has asked for clarification regarding a report on Radio Prague that Sultan Saeed Bin Taimur is on his way to the UK, and that British soldiers have suffered heavy casualties in Oman (449)
• A planned attack on a village in Jebel Akhdar, with RAF support, where Taleb Al Hina'i is thought to be hiding (450)
• Plans for the redeployment of the Gulf battalion, and a request for this to be postponed in light of the ongoing operations in Oman (451)
• Parliamentary question from Stephen Davies MP on the numbers of casualties suffered by troops under British command, of villages destroyed and of non-combatants killed and injured during operations in Oman in which British troops took part, along with notes and drafts of an answer (452)
• Extracts from reports and statements from the USSR on the British action in Oman (453)
• Report that Sulaiman Bin Himyar has left Jebel Akhdar and is heading for the coast and an instruction to HMS Lock Ruthven to patrol the relevant area of coastline (455)
• List of British casualties in Oman, reported on Voice of the Arabs and quoting the Imamate of Oman's office in Cairo (456)
• Details of the planned operation on the rebel stronghold in Jebel Akhdar (457)
• BBC report that an assault on Jebel Akhdar will begin on 13 November (458)
• Report that the assault by the Sultan's Armed Forces was held up by rebel gun fire and was unable to reach its objective (459)
• Report that the Imam of Oman Ghalib Al Hina'i and Taleb Al Hina'i have left Jebel Akhdar and instructions for HMS Ruthven and HMS Fada to carry out patrols in search of them (461)
• Report of the failure of the assault on the rebel stronghold and discussions regarding the reasons for the failure, suggestions for possible future strategies and the effectiveness of the Sultan's intelligence organisation (462)
• Draft telegram for notifying Commonwealth high commissioners and prime ministers about future operations in Oman (463)
• Text of a statement by the Cairo representative of the Imam of Oman, quoted in the Hungarian newspaper Nepszabadsag, regarding alleged British atrocities in Oman (464)
• Discussions regarding plans for future actions in the campaign against the rebels (465)
• Summary of discussions with the Sultan regarding future strategies against the rebels. In particular, an agreement is made to provide more troops from the Trucial Oman Scouts to reinforce the blockade at Jebel Akhdar and to set up four blockade committees in order to make the blockade more effective (467-468) The need to consider the possible effects in the Aden Protectorate of any further actions in Oman (469)
• Letter from the representatives of Arab States at the UN to the President of the Security Council regarding the situation in Oman (470)