IRAN SEVERS TIES WITH THE BRITISH MUSEUM

Agence France Presse reports via the Daily Star that Iran cut ties with the British Museum on Sunday in protest at repeated delays in the loan to Tehran of an ancient Persian treasure, the Cyrus Cylinder. Hassan Mohseni, a senior official at Iran’s cultural-heritage and tourism organization, said relations were annulled after the London museum failed to transfer the artifact to Tehran.

“We confirm the cutting of ties, and we consider it a closed chapter,” said Mohseni, who heads the state organization’s public relations.

Tehran’s decision to break off relations with the museum was revealed earlier by Hamid Baghai, who heads the organization. “Since the Cyrus Cylinder_ has not been transferred to Iran, we will lodge a complaint against the British Museum to UNESCO and cut ties,” Baghai was quoted as saying by Iranian media.

The museum, he said, had failed to meet a final deadline of Sunday, leading to the cut, and Iran’s decision to notify the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.

Many historians regard the cylinder, discovered in 1879, as the world’s first declaration of human rights. It was written at the order of Persian ruler Cyrus the Great after his conquest of Babylon in 539 BCE.