TEHRAN -- Iran and Greece plan to set up a joint research center, the director of Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization Research Center announced on Saturday.

The project will provide Iranian and Greek scholars and historians a chance to survey the historical, cultural, and scientific relations of the two nations over the course of history and to inform the world of their findings, Taha Hashemi added.

He stated that the center will help correct misconceptions about the historical influence of Iran and Greece on each other promoted by Western historians.

During his recent visit to Greece, Hashemi invited a delegation of Greek archaeologists to Iran to cooperate in raising an ancient ship recently discovered in the Persian Gulf.

Iranian experts have been unable to carry out the operation on their own due to the lack of equipment necessary to allow divers to work at a depth of 70 meters.

The ship was discovered about two months ago by Daryakav Company workers who were fishing in the Persian Gulf.

Archaeologists believe it dates back to the Parthian or Sassanid eras based on the shards brought up in fishing nets and the large amphorae discovered on the ship. Amphorae were used during the Parthian and Sassanid eras.