The Iranian Center for International Law at the Presidential Office says the US has returned a part of its properties after 37 years.
In 1978 the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (TMOCA) had purchased 14 artworks by two well-known American architects, the late Michael Graves (1934 –2015) and 76-year old Robert A. M. Stern, Mehr News Agency reported, quoting an informed source at the center who was not identified.
Following the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and the takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran, the US administration refused to deliver the works to Iran despite the fact that based on the 1981 Algiers Accords that led to the release of the hostages (Tehran had accused them of spying and undermining the revolution), the US was committed to return all Iranian property, including the artworks.
Pointing to the US violation of the Algiers Accord in this regard, Iran filed a complaint at the International Court of Justice in The Hague in 1982.
Finally, in 2013, the US government agreed to return the artworks after first transferring them to the Dutch capital Amsterdam where Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance experts confirmed their authenticity.
The artworks include pictures of architecture designs implemented in Iran. The value of the masterpieces has not been disclosed.
