🔸The Iranian Archaeology Society, in a letter to Masoud Pezeshkian, the president, called for immediate action to protect Persepolis and prevent the country’s cultural heritage from being destroyed.

🔸ISNA news agency reported on Wednesday, 25 Shahrivar, that the group, referring to a bill to annex about 160 hectares of the second-degree buffer zone of Persepolis to the urban boundaries of Marvdasht, has warned that this action would bring the path of Marvdasht’s development closer to the ancient sites of Firouzeh Hill, the Nations Square, and the historical area of Persepolis.

🔸In the letter, it was also warned that the implementation of this plan would increase the value of land and would provide the basis for speculation and pressure on the buffer zone of this world heritage site.

🔸The director-general of Cultural Heritage in Fars Province had previously said that this plan has been halted and is under review.

🔸However, the Iranian Archaeology Society has described the “contradiction” between the reports and published approvals with the statements made by the director-general of Cultural Heritage in Fars about the stoppage of the plan as a reason for the immediate entry of the presidential institution, clarification of the decision-making process, and public release of related documents.