Head of Cultural Heritage Organization: Tourism Should Not Be Made Security-Oriented

The head of Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization reacted to the police's efforts to identify participants in the commemoration of Cyrus Day, emphasizing that tourism in the country should not be made 'security-oriented.' Zahra Ahmadpour, who was recently appointed by Hassan Rouhani as the head of the Cultural Heritage Organization, made this point in an interview with the Saturday, November 13 issue of the Tehran newspaper 'Shahrvand.' According to Ms. Ahmadpour, 'Legal institutions have their own obligations,' and she does not intend to interfere in their work, but believes that the tourism space should not become 'security-oriented.' She added, 'Security in tourism has its own mechanisms and should be ensured through these mechanisms.' This official stated, 'We should not allow tourism to be accompanied by tension, and we should not do anything that pushes this sector towards becoming security-oriented.' The security police in Iran began efforts to identify participants in the commemoration of Cyrus after the release of videos, images, and reports of the event held in Pasargadae, near Shiraz. The police are seeking the details of individuals who traveled to Shiraz as part of domestic tours from October 16 to November 1. The Association of Travel Service Offices also urgently requested its members to provide the details of these individuals to the association. This memo stated that the purpose of this action was to provide the details of these travelers to the 'security police.' In Iran, November 7 has been unofficially designated as Cyrus Day, and for several years, groups of people from across the country have gathered in Pasargadae on this day. This year, reports from Pasargadae indicated that 'thousands of people' gathered to commemorate this day. According to some reports, a group of participants this year chanted slogans such as 'Iran is our homeland, Cyrus is our father,' which led to the arrest of the main organizers of the event. Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, also deemed the pursuit and arrest of participants in this event as 'meaningless' and stated that banning travelers from being taken by tour operators to Pasargadae is merely a 'provocative' action. The Cultural Heritage Organization of Isfahan had issued an order to cancel tours to Pasargadae from November 1 to 10 before the event. Mr. Motahari added, 'Even if 5,000 people out of 80 million Iranians go to Pasargadae and chant there, it is not a significant issue and should not be given much attention.' This parliament member also noted, 'Those who went to the tomb of Cyrus and chanted those slogans did not act wisely; because the ideology of ancient Iran cannot be compared to Islam.' Hussein Nouri Hamadani, a Shia cleric in Qom, also criticized the presence of thousands near the tomb of Cyrus in Pasargadae, questioning how these individuals could chant slogans that are directed at the leader of the Islamic Republic in that location.