The

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

(UNESCO)

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

s are places of importance to

cultural Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.T ...

natural heritage Natural heritage refers to the sum total of the elements of biodiversity, including flora and fauna, ecosystems and geological structures. It forms part of our natural resources. Definition Heritage is that which is ''inherited'' from past gener ...

as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972.

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

accepted the convention on 26 February 1975, making its historical sites eligible for inclusion on the list. As of 2021, twenty-six sites in Iran are included. The first three sites in Iran, Meidan Naghshe Jahan, Isfahan,

Persepolis , native_name_lang = , alternate_name = , image = Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Ruins of the Gate of All Nations, Persepolis. , map = , map_type ...

and Tchogha Zanbil, were inscribed on the list at the 3rd Session of the World Heritage Committee, held in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

and

Luxor Luxor ( ar, الأقصر, al-ʾuqṣur, lit=the palaces) is a modern city in Upper (southern) Egypt which includes the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of ''Thebes''. Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open-a ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

in 1979. They remained the Islamic Republic's only listed properties until 2003, when Takht-e Soleyman was added to the list. The latest addition was the

Hyrcanian forests The Hyrcanian forests ( fa, جنگل های هیرکانی) are a zone of lush lowland and montane forests covering about adjoining the shores of the Caspian Sea of Iran and part of that of Azerbaijan. The forest is named after the ancient reg ...

, inscribed in 2019. In addition to its inscribed sites, Iran also lists more than 50 properties on its tentative list.

World Heritage Sites

: Site; named after the World Heritage Committee's official designation : Location; at city, regional, or provincial level and geocoordinates : Criteria; as defined by the World Heritage Committee : Area; in

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre i ...

s and

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

s. If available, the size of the buffer zone has been noted as well. A lack of value implies that no data has been published by UNESCO : Year; during which the site was inscribed to the World Heritage List : Description; brief information about the site, including reasons for qualifying as an endangered site, if applicable

Tentative list

(Persia) is a rich country in

Culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

and

Natural heritage Natural heritage refers to the sum total of the elements of biodiversity, including flora and fauna, ecosystems and geological structures. It forms part of our natural resources. Definition Heritage is that which is ''inherited'' from past gener ...

, home to one of the world's oldest civilizations, and known as Four Seasons Country. In addition to sites inscribed on the World Heritage list, member states can maintain a list of tentative sites that they may consider for nomination. Nominations for the World Heritage list are only accepted if the site was previously listed on the tentative list. As of May 2020, Iran has 56 properties on UNESCO's tentative list. #

References

* unesco-world-heritage-sites-Ira

{{Lists of World Heritage Sites in Asia World Heritage Sites in Iran, 01

World Heritage Sites A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

Landmarks in Iran