December 25, 2015
The Islamic Republic last week announced that it had retrieved 14 architectural paintings that had been bought before the revolution by Tehran’s Museum of Contemporary Art but never delivered because of the sanctions imposed in 1979 after the US embassy hostages were seized.
It wasn’t made clear why these items were not released to Iran in 1981 when almost all of Iran’s assets were unfrozen the day the hostages were freed. There may have been some issue of ownership, but neither US or Iranian officials cleared up that point.
The New York Times quoted an unnamed State Department official as saying the museum “contracted to purchase” the drawings before the revolution, hinting that the transaction may not have been completed before the hostages were taken.
The paintings were described as artworks, but they were really drawings of proposed buildings by two prominent American architects. No valuation was given, but it is unlikely it would have been very high.
Oddly, the return of the works was revealed by the Presidential Office. Some thought this was part of an effort to convey to the public that there have been a number of benefits for Iran beyond those listed in the new nuclear agreement.
The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) said the drawings were bought in 1978 by the museum, which was the creation of Empress Farah. IRNA said an official in the Office of President Rohani said Iran filed a claim for the drawings in 1982, but it took until this year to resolve the matter.
(IRNA said the claim was filed with the International Court of Justice, but that could not be correct because all claims stemming from the revolution are handled by the Iran-US Claims Tribunal, which was created by the 1981 hostage release agreement.)
(The New York Times said the claim was filed about two years ago, but that could not be correct as the Tribunal accepted no new claims after 1982.)
According to PressTV, 10 of the 14 drawings were done by the late Michael Graves and the other four by Robert A.M. Stern, both noted American architects.