TEHRAN – Iran ranks among the world’s top 10 countries in the number of UNESCO-inscribed heritage properties and elements, Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Seyyed Reza Salehi-Amiri said on Thursday during a visit to historical sites in Zanjan.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the visit, Salehi-Amiri said Iran has so far registered 29 tangible and 28 intangible elements on UNESCO’s lists. He added that with 57 items on its national tentative list, Iran is the only country positioned to nominate at least one site for global inscription each year for several decades.

He did not, however, refer to the names of any other country or countries in relation to this ranking.

Salehi-Amiri said Iran’s ranking could have been higher without a roughly 20-year pause in the nomination process after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq war. “If that interruption had not occurred, Iran would now be among the leading countries in the world [in that regard],” he said.

He said several Iranian dossiers, including Alamut Castle, the historic village of Masuleh, a collection of centuries-old mosques, and other sites, are awaiting review for [possible] inscription. Iran, he said, has more than one million identified heritage elements and 43,000 nationally registered sites, creating capacity for “hundreds more” potential global nominations.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the minister highlighted Zanjan province’s heritage potential, saying it holds more than the UNESCO-listed Soltaniyeh Dome. He described the Zanjan bazaar as one of the country’s most active historic markets and said it could be considered under a future nomination for Iranian historic bazaars.

The minister added such markets form part of traditional urban life and attract domestic and foreign visitors. “These spaces are connected to daily urban living and create significant appeal for tourists,” he said.

Salehi-Amiri said Zanjan now offers a broader tourism profile than in the past, with natural and historical attractions able to keep visitors in the province for several days. Soltaniyeh alone, he said, requires a half-day visit, and additional cultural, natural, handicraft and local-tradition assets could form a complete tourism route.

The minister said the government aims to expand the number of museums from the current 800 to 1,000 by the end of Iran’s Seventh National Development Plan. Zanjan, he said, is among the provinces with the highest capacity for museum development.

Iran’s 28 UNESCO-listed intangible heritage elements include Nowruz; the Sadeh celebration; the art of crafting and playing the rabab; Turkmen-style needlework; the art of illumination (Tazhib); the art of miniature; Chogan, a horse-riding game with music and storytelling; and traditional carpet-weaving skills in Fars.

Among Iran’s 29 UNESCO World Heritage sites are the Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran; Bam and its Cultural Landscape; Bisotun; the Cultural Landscape of Maymand; Golestan Palace; Lut Desert; Pasargadae; Persepolis; the Sheikh Safi al-Din Khanegah and Shrine Ensemble; and the Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System.

AM