US Delivers Artworks to Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Fourteen pieces of American art purchased by Iran nearly four decades ago, but blocked for export due to rupture in relations since the 1979 Iranian Islamic Revolution, have finally been delivered to the Islamic Republic, a report said.
Delivery of the art, described by American officials as architectural drawings bought in 1978 by the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, came against the backdrop of the July 14 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, The New York Times reported on Friday.
American officials, however, said the art delivery was the outcome of a claim filed by the Iranians two years ago with a tribunal created in 1981 under an agreement known as the Algiers Accords.
The tribunal, based in The Hague, Netherlands, created a mechanism for Iranians and Americans to seek impounded assets from each other’s country after their bilateral relations were severed in 1979.
According to the report, an unnamed US State Department official has confirmed the delivery.
“A claim was brought before the tribunal related to various pieces of artwork Iran contracted to purchase prior to 1979,” the official said, adding that the claim “has now been resolved and the specific pieces of artwork have been transferred to Iran,” and that the transfer had been completed “in the last couple of months.”
The value of the masterpieces has not been disclosed by the two countries.
