Dozens of Stolen Cultural Artifacts from Italy to be Returned to Iran

According to a report by the Iranian state news agency, IRNA, around 30 pieces of stolen cultural objects from Iran that ended up in Italy will be returned to Iran. The report from August 1 indicates that based on the 'UNIDROIT' convention regarding the restitution of stolen cultural property, these items have been handed over to the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Rome and are set to be returned to Iran in September of this year. According to the report, Mohammad Hassan Talebian, Deputy of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Paola Piacentini, head of the office for the seizure of stolen cultural property at the National Museum of Oriental Art in Rome, attended the ceremony for the handover of these artifacts to the Iranian embassy. The Deputy of the Cultural Heritage Organization stated, 'Today, for the first time in the world, the UNIDROIT convention on the restitution of cultural property has been implemented, and the first shipment of stolen items that had left Iran is being returned to be handed over to the National Museum of Iran.' Duilio Cortasa, a lawyer for the Iranian embassy in Italy, told IRNA that the Italian cultural heritage police successfully seized some objects related to the pre-Islamic and post-Islamic periods in 2007 in the city of Monza, northern Italy, which belong to several countries, including Iran. The Milan Court of Appeals also issued a ruling to return these items to Iran. Previously, other stolen historical artifacts had been returned to Iran, including two years ago when the United States returned one of Iran's historical objects. Mehdi Hojjat, Deputy of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization at that time, confirmed that the U.S. government, in a 'symbolic' act to demonstrate goodwill, returned the 'Lion and Sun' artifact, a very valuable ancient piece belonging to Iran, to Hassan Rouhani's delegation. However, at that time, Hamid Bakhaei, head of the Cultural Heritage Organization during Ahmadinejad's presidency, claimed that the ancient cup known as 'Lion and Sun' returned from the U.S. was 'fake.' This was not the only instance; in May of this year, the Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran announced the return of 108 valuable ancient items from the U.S. to Iran after 51 years, with these items being transferred to the National Museum of Iran. In January 2015, following a court ruling in Belgium, 349 pieces of ancient Iranian artifacts dating back 3,500 years were returned to Iran after 50 years. These items were discovered during 'illegal excavations' in the Khorvin region of Savojbolagh and were taken out of Iran. According to the head of the Cultural Heritage Organization, Iran began legal proceedings for their restitution in 1981 after learning about the location of these items in Belgium, a process that took over three decades.