The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has registered 26 Iranian cultural heritage monuments from 1979 to 2021, turning the Islamic country into one of the leading states with most sites inscribed on the World Heritage List.
The inscription of 26 cultural, historical, and natural heritage monuments proves the fact that Iran has got a special position in UNESCO’s World Heritage List since the victory of the Islamic Revolution.
Historical and ancient structures, traditional artifacts, and natural landscapes are parts of cultural assets and are considered tangible cultural heritage, which is preserved in an ancient area or a museum.
Prior to the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, none of the Iranian cultural, historical and natural assets had been registered on the World Heritage List. Chogha Zanbil in Khuzestan province, Persepolis in Fars province, and Naghsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan province were inscribed on the List in the first year following the victory of the Islamic Revolution.
Prior to the Rouhani administration, 16 monuments were registered on the List. The administration succeeded in paving the way for registering 10 more monuments within eight years of tenure.
Iran ranks ninth among countries with the most registered monuments on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
Inscription of Burnt City in Meymand, Lut Desert, Susa or Shoosh ancient city, Iranian aqueducts, historical city of Yazd, Sassanid Archaeological Landscape of Fars Region, Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests, Trans-Iranian Railway and Cultural Landscape of Uramanat in last eight years helped Iran to stand ninth in terms of possessing cultural, historical and natural monuments of the World Heritage List.
Although both governments and the public are expected to preserve cultural and natural monuments, administrations are tasked to pursue inscription of their national tangible heritage on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
