TEHRAN -- Iran’s Cultural Heritage Deputy Ministry has reported a broad program of conservation, restitution and international recognition during the first two years of the administration of President Masoud Pezeshkian, including the return of 1,165 historic objects and the inscription of six cultural properties and traditions on UNESCO lists.
Among the most significant achievements cited by Ali Darabi, deputy minister and deputy head of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, are the inscription of three tangible properties and three elements of intangible heritage. 
The tangible properties are Hegmataneh, the Prehistoric Sites of the Khorramabad Valley, and Alamut Castle and Related Fortifications. 
UNESCO records confirm Hegmataneh’s inscription in 2024, the Khorramabad Valley sites in 2025 and Alamut Castle and Related Fortifications in 2026.
The three intangible elements are the Ceremony of Mehregan, the art of crafting and playing the rubab, and the art of mirror-work in Persian architecture, all now included in UNESCO’s lists for Iran.
Darabi said the ministry has also established 42 museums, opened 30 national heritage bases and four World Heritage bases, and registered 1,310 movable historic objects, 317 immovable properties, 307 elements of intangible heritage and 200 natural sites on national registers.
The scale of the documentation program is reflected in the registration of 302,851 objects in the JAM system, alongside the licensing of 62 private collectors. 
The ministry also established the boundaries of 343 national and natural heritage sites and reviewed 456 other cases, while responding to more than 17,000 inquiries through the national land-information system.
Conservation has increasingly been framed around public participation, international heritage diplomacy and what the ministry describes as “smart” conservation. Darabi said funding for conservation and restoration rose by 80 percent, while 763 projects were carried out. 
Provincial branches of the Association of Heritage Benefactors were also established to encourage public participation in safeguarding historic sites.
The program acquired a more urgent dimension during the recent wars. Darabi said 149 historic sites in more than 20 provinces were damaged, causing estimated losses of more than 10 trillion rials. 
In response, the ministry moved 45,362 museum objects to secure storage and established emergency-management structures for museums and historic sites.
The ministry also corresponded with UNESCO and other international organizations, activated the “Blue Shield” working group and installed Blue Shield emblems on historic buildings.