Thirty valuable paintings on loan from the Imam Ali Religious Arts Museum in Tehran have vanished after “an unidentified entity outside the municipality with official documentation” for an exhibition that it appears never took place, according to a report from Artdependence.

Tehran City Council member Nasser Amani disclosed the news during a recent council meeting. The estimated worth of just one of the missing paintings was around 300 billion rials, the equivalent of $500,000. Despite repeated attempts to get answers, authorities have provided no explanation for the artworks’ whereabouts.

“We’ve tried to follow up on this,” Amani said during the council meeting, “but not only have we not received a report, but no one has provided a clear answer about where the valuable artworks are.”

The missing paintings add to a growing list of cultural assets that have disappeared under suspicious circumstances in Iran. Past scandals include the theft of 48 handwoven carpets from Sa’dabad Palace, another national treasure, there were allegedly moved to private residences.

Critics accuse the Iranian government of failing to safeguard the country’s cultural heritage, with suspicions of officials profiting from the black market sales of these items. The disappearance of the paintings, amid an environment of economic sanctions and internal mismanagement, has left many questioning the government’s priorities. Activists are now calling for a full investigation into the missing artworks and the potential mismanagement of Iran’s cultural heritage.

– Daniel Cassady Senior Writer, ARTnews