The United Kingdom has returned a third-century rock relief sculpture, which was smuggled out of Iran, to the Iranian embassy, Iran’s chargé d’affaires to the UK Mehdi Hosseini Matin said.
He noted that the Iranian embassy had taken delivery of the antiquity, dating to the period of the Sasanian Empire (AD 224-651).
"The statue of the Sasanid soldier, which had been smuggled into Britain, was displayed temporarily at the British Museum for three months after Iran’s ownership was proven. Today, the precious ancient work was officially delivered to the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in London," Mehdi Hosseini Matin said.
The diplomat noted that the relief sculpture will be sent soon to Iran.
The ancient treasure had been seized by the British border police in January 2016 at Stansted Airport near London. It was heading for the black market in the UK, when it was confiscated by the border police officers.
