TEHRAN: Iran is cutting ties with the British Museum in protest at repeated delays in the loan to Tehran of an ancient Persian treasure, the Cyrus Cylinder, local media reported on Sunday. “Since the Cyrus Cylinder has not been transferred to Iran, we will lodge a complaint against the British Museum to UNESCO and cut ties,” Hamid Baghai, who heads Iran’s cultural heritage and tourism organisation, said in the

reports. Baghai said the museum had failed to meet a final deadline of Sunday, leading to the cut and Iran’s decision to notify the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.

Many historians regard the cylinder, discovered in 1879, as the world’s first declaration of human rights. It was written at the order of Persian ruler Cyrus the Great after his conquest of Babylon in 539 BC and is currently with the British Museum in London.