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Iran broadens UNESCO bid for Persian mosque heritage ahead of 2027 submission
Iran has expanded its proposed UNESCO World Heritage nomination for the country’s historic mosques, with 17 provinces now seeking to put forward sites and the submission targeted for 2027, Alireza Izadi, director general of the Office for Registration and Protection of Historic and Natural Heritage, said.
UNESCO added the “Persian Mosque” serial nomination to Iran’s Tentative List in December 2024, ILNA reported.
The nomination initially began with 26 candidate mosques but has since grown as provinces put forward additional historic sites. Izadi said the delay would allow the Cultural Heritage Ministry to broaden and strengthen the dossier before sending it to UNESCO.
“Competition” among provinces has intensified, he said, with Semnan and Borujerd among the areas seeking to include prominent historic mosques in the national nomination.
The expanded approach could turn the dossier into a more comprehensive account of Iranian mosque architecture rather than a limited selection of individual monuments. Izadi said the ministry wants to identify the strongest examples from across the country and present the architectural tradition as a connected historical development.
More than 1,000 mosques nationwide have reportedly been reviewed during the preparation process, with successive rounds of screening narrowing the field. Recent ministry reports have identified 52 mosques across 17 provinces as candidates for consideration.
Semnan’s Jameh Mosque is among the newer proposals, alongside Tarikhaneh of Damghan and the Jameh Mosque of Forumad. In Borujerd, the more than 1,200-year-old Jameh Mosque is also being considered, offering a distinctive example of the architectural transition that followed the advent of Islam in Iran.
The existing UNESCO tentative nomination comprises at least 17 historic mosques, including the Jameh mosques of Fahraj, Saveh, Neyriz, Natanz, Isfahan, Ardestan, Zavareh, Yazd, Gonabad and Nain, as well as Tarikhaneh in Damghan and several major Safavid and Qajar-era mosques. UNESCO describes it as a serial nomination illustrating the development of Persian mosque architecture over centuries.
Izadi said the objective is not simply to secure recognition for a handful of monuments but to showcase the depth of Iranian architectural heritage and its evolution across the Islamic era.
“If a mosque meets the necessary criteria,” it can be considered for inclusion, he said, stressing that the nomination could ultimately encompass sites from across Iran.
The ministry now plans to complete its expanded review and prepare the “Persian Mosque” dossier for submission in 2027, potentially giving UNESCO a broader picture of the country’s distinctive mosque-building
tradition.