The Armenian government has decided to transfer the rights to the Blue Mosque in Yerevan to Iran, IRNA reported, quoting Russia-based news website Sputnik.
A contract will be signed with the Iranian Embassy in Armenia to give Iran full ownership of the site for 99 years, Armenia-based news website News Armenia reported.
During an official trip to Armenia in October, the head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, Masoud Soltanifar, said Iran will be cooperating with Armenia to prepare the dossier of the Blue Mosque for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List as a common site of the two states.
“The mosque reflects the peaceful coexistence of Armenians and Iranians, and is a symbol of friendship between the two,” Iran’s First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri said at the time.
The Blue Mosque, named after its blue dome, was built in Yerevan in 1764-65 under the order of Khan of Irevan Huseynali and is the largest of all the mosques in the capital city.
It is one of the eight mosques where Azerbaijanis performed acts of worship during the Tsar period.
Between 1995 and 2006, the mosque was largely restored by Iranian contractors and has turned into an Iranian cultural center.
