TEHRAN – Iran has so far registered 56 cities and 35 villages as national handicrafts centers, with 18 locations added to the list over the past two years, a tourism ministry official said.

The registrations aim to identify and promote Iran’s distinctive handicrafts capacities, protect traditional arts in local communities and strengthen specialized production hubs, Narges Rajaei, director general of handicrafts education and promotion at the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, said on Sunday.

Over the past two years, nine cities have been added to the national list, including: Meymand in Fars province, recognized for glassmaking; Rayen in Kerman province, recognized for knife-making; Izeh and Shadegan in Khuzestan province, recognized for kilim weaving and mat weaving, respectively; and Bafruiyeh in Yazd province, recognized for traditional wool spinning.

International recognition and support

The historical city of Yazd was registered last year as a World Craft City for traditional jewelry, Rajaei said, adding that Na’in’s aba-weaving in Isfahan province had received international geographical indication registration through the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a United Nations specialized agency.

Over the past two years, 1,269 national authenticity seals were awarded to handicrafts artists to support the production of original, creative and high-quality works, she said.

Other measures included sending eight artists to international promotional exhibitions in India, participating in an international festival in Uzbekistan and holding a specialized Iranian handicrafts exhibition in Samarkand.

Employment and financial assistance

The handicrafts sector added 180,303 workers over the two-year period, Rajaei said.

The ministry issued 175 licenses for handicrafts houses and 94 licenses for private-sector facilities. It also established 81 government handicrafts houses in 28 provinces, with an investment of more than 835 billion rials.

A total of 107,962 activity permits were issued to facilitate work by handicrafts artists and producers, while 2,551 temporary handicrafts markets were established, she said.

Rajaei also reported the payment of financial assistance to handicrafts producers and practitioners.

Other measures included holding the eighth national authenticity seal program in all 31 provinces of the country, issuing 1,269 certificates, securing international geographical indication registration for aba-weaving, lifting the export ban on backgammon boards and allowing imports of raw semi-precious stones to supply production workshops.

The ministry also facilitated the repatriation of export earnings based on the amount of raw materials used, organized training workshops through digital sales platforms with 430 handicrafts producers, and supported the launch of 185 sellers and 94 facilitators on those platforms.

Insurance coverage was extended to 5,123 handicrafts workers, while 5 trillion tomans in support for handicrafts home-based businesses was allocated for around 15,000 projects, Rajaei said.

According to the ministry, Iran has revived 66 handicraft disciplines that were at risk of disappearing over the past five years through support measures aimed at preserving traditional knowledge and skills.

Among the traditional crafts revived in 2025 were Giveh-making in Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari province, traditional blacksmithing in North Khorasan, plaited mat weaving in Sistan-Baluchestan, traditional Turkmen footwear production in Golestan, Orosi window-making in Lorestan, and traditional dyeing techniques in Hamedan.

More than 623,000 artisans are currently active in Iran's handicrafts sector. Of that total, 508,000 are women and 115,000 are men.

Textile-based crafts account for the largest number of practitioners, with about 158,000 artisans, followed by woodcrafts and wickerwork with approximately 144,000 and 142,000 practitioners respectively, according to data compiled by the ministry.

AM