Iran’s historical heritage is facing the risk of irreversible damage as land subsidence expands. Mustafa Davarpahlavan, an archaeologist and former head of the Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, says that “Naqsh-e Jahan Square” and the historic fabric of Isfahan, “Marvdasht Plain,” “Persepolis,” “Pasargadae,” and “Naqsh-e Rustam” are among the sites that are facing the risk of subsidence. Excessive extraction from underground water resources is one of the main factors behind the spread of this phenomenon.

“Sina Ganbarpour,” a collaborator of IranWire, says in a news interview on Saturday, 24 Mordad, on IranWire Television that although experts have been warning about this for years, the officials of the Islamic Republic, through lack of prudence and negligence, have sacrificed Iran’s historical heritage. According to this reporter, saving Iran’s historical heritage could take as long as half a century.

The interview was broadcast in full in the news program of Saturday, 24 Mordad, on “IranWire Television.”