The Islamic Republic of Iran has announced its readiness to protect at-risk Iraqi artifacts after the destruction of invaluable relics by the Daesh Takfiri terrorists in the northern city of Mosul, Press TV reports.
“We have sent three separate letters. One to Irina Bokova, the head of the UN cultural agency, demanding swift action and practical measures to safeguard historical monuments and artifacts in Iraq,” Mohammad-Hassan Talebian, the deputy head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage Organization told Press TV in Tehran.
Talebian added that in another missive to the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Tehran has called on its members to condemn Daesh's “barbaric act” while in a third correspondence to Iraq’s tourism and antiquities minister Iran has offered to provide Baghdad with “any kind of help” it would need in the face of atrocities by the terrorists.
The Daesh terror group released a new video on February 26 showing its militants using sledgehammers and drills to smash ancient statues at the Mosul Museum, which put on display Assyrian artifacts dating back to the 9th century B.C.
The destruction of ancient artifacts in the militant-held city is believed to be the worst cultural tragedy since Iraq’s national museum was ransacked in the chaos that followed the US-led invasion of the country in 2003.