Iran to reclaim 17,000 more tablets from US
Iran’s Minister of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism, Ezzatollah Zarghami, announced on Tuesday that an additional 17,000 Achaemenid tablets will be returned to Iran from the United States.
According to Mehr news agency, Iranian experts are scheduled to travel to the United States next month to oversee the return of another batch of Achaemenid historical tablets.
Zarghami emphasized that the conditions for sending these tablets back to Iran will be established after verifying their authenticity.
This development follows a recent announcement by Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi, as he declared the successful repatriation of 3,506 Achaemenid tablets from the United States after more than 85 years.
Zarghami provided the historical context, stating, “The original collection of these tablets, numbering 30,000, was discovered in 1932 during the reign of Pahlavi I. They were subsequently sent to the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago to be explored and studied. These tablets encompass a wide range of administrative, economic, social, and linguistic documents dating back 2,500 years, shedding light on the legal rights of ancient Iranians.”
The minister also detailed the process for the return of the remaining tablets, stating, “The groundwork has been laid for the return of the remaining tablets, following an agreement reached with the Americans. Our experts will travel to the United States to authenticate and verify the remaining tablets, after which they will be gradually returned to Iran.”
Zarghami concluded by mentioning that the returned tablets have been safely transferred to the National Museum of Iran, with plans to put some of them on public display in the near future.