The National Jewelry Treasury to Reopen After Four Years of Closure

About a year and a half after the claim by the spokesperson of President Ebrahim Raisi's government regarding the departure of the imperial crowns from Iran by the Pahlavi family, the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic announced that the "National Jewelry Treasury" will once again open to the public after approximately four years of closure. ISNA news agency reported on Friday, June 8, with images of the "Shahbanu" crown and the Sea of Light diamond, quoting the public relations department of the Central Bank, stating: "Considering the completion of construction operations, the National Jewelry Treasury will reopen to the public on Tuesday, June 11, 1403, as before." This comes as Ali Bahadori Jahromi, the spokesperson for Ebrahim Raisi's government, claimed in January 2023 on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi and Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi took part of the jewelry from the Central Bank's treasury, including the famous "Pahlavi" crown and the "Shahbanu" crown, when they left the country. At that time, the wife of the last Shah of Iran emphasized in an interview with Radio Farda that all these jewels are in the treasury of the Central Bank of Iran. Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi also told Radio Farda that in January 1979, when leaving the country, she left a large part of her personal jewelry in the "cabinets of Niavaran Palace." Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi denied the claim of removing royal jewelry from Iran. Alongside the wave of reactions to the baseless claim by the spokesperson of the Islamic Republic's government, Ezzatollah Zarghami, the Minister of Cultural Heritage, also confirmed the existence of two royal crowns in the National Jewelry Treasury. However, Mr. Bahadori Jahromi, in response to Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi's remarks, reiterated his previous claim without correction, stating that the government welcomes the examination of this issue in "a competent court." The Pahlavi crown or royal crown was made at the order of Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1925 and was used in the coronations of the Pahlavi family. This crown is made of gold, embellished silver, and red velvet, and contains royal jewels that are historically valuable on their own. According to a resolution by the National Consultative Assembly in 1937, Iran's national jewels were transferred to the National Jewelry Museum, under the supervision of the Central Bank of Iran, as backing for the country's banknotes. The Naderi cap, the jeweled globe, the Peacock Throne, and the Naderi Throne are among the most significant artifacts and jewels kept in this treasury. The Central Bank's jewelry treasury was closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the prolonged closure was linked to "the transfer of this treasury to a new treasury being built in the Abbasabad hills of Tehran."