According to Khabaronline, an Iranian news agency, According to the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, the dossier was finalised on January 25, 2026 and will be sent to UNESCO for consideration for inscription on the World Heritage List.
Ali Darabi, who signed the completed file, said the Masuleh dossier had previously been reviewed at the 45th UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting in Riyadh in September 2023, where member states requested additional studies.
“Fortunately, the Masuleh file has now been completed and will soon be sent to UNESCO headquarters in Paris,” Darabi said.
He noted that the significance of Masuleh lies in its documentation of iron extraction during the Islamic era, its location within the Hyrcanian forests, and its unique settlement pattern, architecture, and multicultural heritage.
Masuleh is located 25 kilometres southwest of Fuman County in Gilan Province. The stepped village was registered on Iran’s National Heritage List in 1975, and efforts to secure its global registration began in 2011. Masuleh was placed on UNESCO’s Tentative List in 2007.
The dossier was reviewed again at the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee on September 17, 2023, but was deferred following recommendations by ICOMOS, UNESCO’s advisory body. Following consultations, UNESCO granted Iran permission to resubmit the revised dossier without being subject to the annual country quota.
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