Country Summary for IRAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF

Definitions

'Cultural Property'—Iranian antiques, foreign antiques, cultural arts and fine arts, having special cultural and artistic importance and value. (1975 Import Export Reg., Arts. 1 & 6)

'Iranian Antiques'—any and all products of any and all peoples who lived on the soil of Persia through the end of the Zend period; may be immovable, such as caves, rock shelters or rock formations containing vestiges of ancient civilizations, or immovable, like structural or decorative elements which were integral parts of buildings or natural sites. (1930 Regulation)

'Cultural Arts'—both Iranian and foreign, include rare handwritten manuscripts, works of the early book publishing industry, and old documents and publications, which are of special historical, artistic, scientific, and literary importance; archives of sound, image, movie, theater and other archives that qualify as important in the culture; arts related to history, including scientific and technical history, military and social history, and also related to the life of leaders, thinkers, scholars, artists and important national and social events; collectible objects and any cultural object and art that are at least one-hundred years old. (1975 Import Export Reg., Art. 4)

Registry

The Persian Archaeological Department shall draw up an inventory of all the currently known immovable antiquities of importance to Persian national history known as the“Inventory of Immovable National Monuments.” Upon discovery, new immovable antiquities of a similar historical and national nature shall be added to the inventory. Any site may be registered with the inventory when it becomes clear that an antiquity involving the history of Persia has been found in the soil of the site.  (1930 Regulation, Arts. 2 & 3)

Movable antiquities important to the national history and located in Persia in the possession of private individuals shall be registered in a Special Inventory, called “Inventory of movable national monuments.” (1930 Regulation, Art. 12)

When a movable antiquity has been given protected status as a “National Monument,” the file used to support the recommended protected status shall be sent to the “Archives of the National Monuments,” along with the text of the ministerial decree ordering the protected statues. (1930 Regulation, Art. 13)

The Managing Director of the Archaeological Department of the Ministry of Education shall recommend registering an immovable antiquity or site holding an immovable antiquity with the inventory and shall decide whether to classify it thereby grant protective status to it.  The protected status shall not become final and its effects shall not apply until the owner of the antiquities or the sites in question has been officially notified. (1930 Regulation, Art. 5)

Relevant State Agencies

Ministry of Culture and Arts

Ministry of the Economy and Financial Affairs