EXCLUSIVE: Iran Offers Safekeeping for Iraq’s Ancient Relics from ISIL

The letter was sent from Masoud Soltanifar, the head of Iran Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization, to Iraqi Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Adel Fahad Shershab. Iran has not received a reply yet.

"Hopefully, our initiative will strike a chord with the Iraqi counterparts. The Islamic Republic will make every effort to keep Iraqi artifacts safe," Dr Ziaeeparvar added. Last week, footage emerged showing radical Sunnis destroying priceless Iraqi statues at a museum in Mosul. Extremists said the art, dating as far back as the 7th century B.C., promotes idolatry.

Islamists seek to wipe away the history of Iraqi people, Prof. Dr. Mohamed Abdelhalim Nureldin, former head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, told Sputnik. "They try to justify their actions by referring to cultural objects as idols," he said.

"We should ask ourselves whether Muslim rulers had ordered to destroy cultural objects in lands that became Muslim. There is only one answer: no. No one had touched Babylon, Assyrian or Ancient Egyptian relics. Nothing had been destroyed. We consider the statues to be cultural heritage. We do not worship them," the professor explained.

Prof. Dr. Mohamed Abdelhalim Nureldin warned that if extremists were not dealt with, they would be able to spread their influence on Egypt and Libya placing their cultural heritage at risk.