TEHRAN — Iran has placed the ancient port of Siraf at the top of its current priorities for potential inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the country’s Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Seyyed Reza Salehi-Amiri said during a visit to Bushehr Province.
Siraf, on Iran’s Persian Gulf coast, has been on UNESCO’s Tentative List since 2007 under the official designation “The Historical Port of Siraf.”
UNESCO describes it as an important port from the Sasanian period through the fourth century AH, highlighting archaeological remains that attest to Iran’s maritime activity, international connections and interaction with neighboring cultures and civilizations.
Speaking at the conclusion of a two-day visit to Bushehr, Salehi-Amiri said Siraf had been prioritized over two other cultural heritage dossiers — Tus and Iran’s Persian Congregational Mosques — for the current year.
“Siraf is beyond the geography of Bushehr and even beyond the geography of Iran,” Salehi-Amiri said during a separate visit to the archaeological site. He described the ancient port as being on the threshold of global recognition and said its inscription would strengthen tourism, the local economy and employment.
Any future World Heritage inscription would require further steps. Siraf’s existing UNESCO status is that of a Tentative List property, rather than an inscribed World Heritage Site. UNESCO describes Tentative Lists as inventories of properties that states intend to consider for nomination to the World Heritage List.
The archaeological significance of Siraf derives in large part from its position on the Persian Gulf and its role in long-distance maritime exchange. UNESCO’s description identifies the site as particularly important for understanding Iranian seafaring, international relations and interaction with cultures and civilizations in the wider region.
The wider Siraf archaeological landscape includes remains extending across the coastal settlement and surrounding valleys.
Among its notable features are the Lir Valley cemeteries, rock-cut burial structures, water installations, a fire temple and the mausoleum associated with Sibawayh, the pioneering 8th-century Persian grammarian whose al-Kitāb became a foundational work of Arabic grammar.
Iran’s official tourism portal describes the Lir Valley burial grounds as the “cemeteries of civilizations,” reflecting evidence of communities and religious traditions that existed in the historic port.
Salehi-Amiri said the government hoped to overcome existing obstacles and facilitate the involvement of UNESCO experts in assessing the site. He said international recognition could establish Siraf as a major destination for domestic and international visitors and strengthen Bushehr’s position on Iran’s tourism map.
The minister also linked Siraf’s heritage to the history of navigation and commerce in the Persian Gulf, describing the site as an important potential center for interpreting Iran’s maritime history.
During his visit to the province, Salehi-Amiri also toured historic mosques and fortifications and visited the Rais Ali Delvari Museum in Delvar. The museum occupies the former house of Rais Ali Delvari, an Iranian resistance leader associated with opposition to British forces in southern Iran during World War I.
Salehi-Amiri said the museum’s redesigned displays present the history of resistance and invited visitors to travel to Bushehr to see it.
UNESCO currently lists 30 World Heritage properties in Iran and 57 properties on the country’s Tentative List, with the Historical Port of Siraf among the latter.