The United States Returns 73 Sassanian Seals to Iran

The Iranian Foreign Ministry states that the U.S. government has 'returned 73 valuable ancient pieces' from the Sassanian era, which have been handed over to the National Museum of Iran. The U.S. had 'voluntarily' informed Iran about the presence of these pieces in its country. According to ISNA news agency on September 10, these pieces are 'seals' considered to be 'among the most exquisite artifacts of the Sassanian period,' and 'it is still unclear to which historical site they belong.' IRNA news agency also quoted Hossein Jaberi Ansari, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, stating that 'this valuable archaeological shipment was handed over today (Sunday, September 10) in a ceremony by a representative of the Foreign Ministry to the head of the National Museum of Iran.' Mohammad Reza Kargar, the director general of the Museums and Historical Movable Properties of Iran, told ISNA that the returned seals are 'baked and mainly feature Pahlavi Sassanian inscriptions.' According to Mr. Kargar, there is no existing sample of many of the returned pieces in Iran. Iranian news agencies reported that the return of the Sassanian seals was carried out with 'coordination from the Iranian Foreign Ministry.' Iran and the United States have severed diplomatic relations since the events surrounding the attack on the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979. The director general of Iranian museums told ISNA that the Sassanian seals were seized from traffickers in 2002 'when they were being illegally imported into the United States.' This cultural official emphasized that the lack of relations had prevented the return of these historical artifacts for the past 14 years. Mohammad Reza Kargar stated that the United States had 'voluntarily' informed Iran about the existence of the seals. The returned artifacts are expected to be unveiled in the coming days and sent for display in various museums across Iran.