Iran’s railway has been registered as the 25th World Heritage Site in Iran during its participation in the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
According to Iran Tripedia, Iran participated in the UNESCO World Heritage Committee with two cases, Iran’s railway and Horaman, which were examined in a meeting held virtually in Fuzhou City, China.
A representative of ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites), which is UNESCO’s advisory and specialized body for World Heritage registration and protection, praised the cultural and historical value of Iran’s railway and suggested ” Deferred” consideration of the case for more information. (After the amendment, the case could be resubmitted to the meeting in two years).
Even so, at the summit, representatives from Norway, Australia, Ethiopia, Oman, Brazil, Russia, Spain, South Africa, Uganda, Thailand, and Hungary, supporting ICOMOS’s view of the corrections, called Iran’s railway an engineering wonder. They stressed the historical significance of this railroad in the economic and international commodity exchange and communication between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf and supported its inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The importance of Iran’s railway architecture was emphasized and considered by the countries present at the UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting
The representative of China also noted that he had studied the file well, stating that the file had Criteria 2 and 4 for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List. However, ICOMOS experts stressed that the Iran’s railway case does not meet these criteria for global registration.
Ahmad Pakatachi, Iran’s ambassador and representative to UNESCO, also thanked ICOMOS for its efforts and the countries that supported it and said, “We will use all suggestions to better protect this heritage and we are ready to cooperate more with ICOMOS and the World Heritage Center” and are ready to make all clarifications on the case. “We will use all proposals to better protect this heritage, and we are ready to cooperate more with ICOMOS and the world heritage center, and ready to make all clarifications on this case,” he said.
He also highlighted: “Since Iran’s railway is one of the sites registered in the list of national monuments and at the same time operates under the current railroad laws, any action and interference in it requires legal permissions from several bodies.”
Iran’s representative to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee points out: “We have a plan to protect this railroad, and two ministries – roads and urban development and heritage and tourism – are involved in the protection of Iran’s railway.” The national protection of this work is guaranteed.
