ABSTRACT
With the collapse of the rebellion in Iraq, both the Mufti and Rashid Ali fled to Iran. The Mufti was sheltered in the Italian Legation in Teheran and, after shaving off his beard and dyeing his hair, Mellini escorted him out of the country through British and Iranian checkpoints and thence to Rome. The Mufti stated his goal of establishing 'an independent, united Arab state' comprising Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Trans-Jordan. The Mufti also laid claims to the spiritual leadership of the Arabs, in effect, to a new caliphate. The Mufti did his best to sabotage the various schemes for the release of Jews from Eastern European countries, to prevent them reaching Palestine. British plans for deporting the Mufti came to naught and he fled Paris. Fearing either an Allied indictment or an assassination attempt by Jewish terrorists, he decided that it would be the better part of wisdom to seek refuge in an Arab country.
