TEHRAN — The Society of 
Iranian Archaeologists has urged President Masoud Pezeshkian to take urgent action to protect Iran’s cultural heritage and the protected landscape surrounding Persepolis, amid concern over a proposal to incorporate about 160 hectares of its Grade 2 buffer zone into the city of Marvdasht.
In a letter to the president, the society warned that the proposed change could bring urban development closer to archaeological areas that have yet to be fully excavated and increase pressure for construction and land speculation around one of Iran’s most important archaeological landscapes.
The society said reports about the proposed incorporation of part of the Persepolis buffer zone represent a warning that could not be ignored. 
It pointed to a wider pattern of threats to Iran’s archaeological heritage, including illegal and, in some cases, organized excavations, the looting of archaeological sites, infrastructure and road projects, urban and industrial expansion, inadequate archaeological assessments and failures to respect protected areas and buffer zones.
It also cited the deterioration of historic buildings, caravanserais, houses and historic urban areas as a result of insufficient funding, weak supervision, inadequate maintenance and what it described as inappropriate management decisions.
The disputed area is understood to involve the village of Mahdieh and surrounding land. The society said the proposed incorporation could direct urban development towards the Firouzi archaeological mounds, Meydan-e Mellat and the wider historical landscape of ancient Persepolis, while potentially increasing the economic value of land and intensifying speculative pressure.
Behzad Moridi, director general of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Fars Province, has said the incorporation has not been implemented and that the matter remains under review. 
He has also said that removing Mahdieh’s village designation and incorporating the area into the urban structure could create future problems for the management of the Persepolis buffer zone, suggesting instead that its village designation be restored and Mahdieh developed as a tourism destination.
The archaeological society said the conflicting reports, decisions, correspondence and official statements made direct government intervention and full transparency necessary.
It called on Pezeshkian to:
Establish a national expert task force, including archaeologists, conservators, heritage specialists, lawyers and representatives of independent academic institutions, to assess the emergency condition of Iran’s cultural heritage.
Order an independent review of the Persepolis buffer-zone dispute and suspend any executive action, land-use 
change or decision affecting the property, its buffer zones or its cultural landscape until its legal and archaeological status is clarified. It also called for the publication of all relevant maps, decisions, minutes and official correspondence.
Investigate potential conflicts of interest and the possible role of land speculation in projects affecting archaeological sites and their protected areas.
Strengthen Iran’s cultural-heritage protection forces through additional personnel, equipment and legal support, and develop a coordinated national response to illegal excavations and antiquities trafficking.
Require independent archaeological studies before infrastructure, mining, industrial, road-building or urban-development projects that could affect archaeological sites or protected areas proceed.
Provide emergency and sustained funding for the conservation, stabilization and restoration of monuments and archaeological sites at risk, with priorities determined by scientific assessments of danger rather than political or regional considerations.
Ensure that heritage managers are appointed on the basis of professional expertise, experience and academic qualifications.
Establish transparent mechanisms for accountability where negligence, failure to act or administrative decisions result in damage to cultural heritage.
The society stressed that Persepolis should not be treated merely as land within an urban plan or evaluated according to short-term considerations such as increased land values, municipal revenues or economic development.
UNESCO inscribed Persepolis on the World Heritage List in 1979. The protected property encompasses Persepolis, Istakhr, Naqsh-e Rajab and Naqsh-e Rostam, while three levels of buffer zones provide additional protection. The Grade 2 buffer zone at the center of the current dispute covers roughly 17,000 hectares and includes more than 100 nationally registered historical sites.
The society said the issue extends beyond Persepolis itself, warning that the destruction of an archaeological site or historic layer cannot be reversed through future funding or reconstruction.
It urged the government to treat cultural heritage as a national, cultural and intergenerational responsibility rather than merely a tourism issue, and called on the president to personally oversee urgent measures.
“Protecting Iran’s heritage means protecting Iran’s identity,” the society said.