Whilst the loan (& hopeful extension of the loan) of the Cyrus Cylinder to Iran should be welcomed, there is an issue to consider, that in the context of Iran, President Ahmadinejad is trying to use it in some ways to give himself an additional sense of legitimacy within the country. There is no right or wrong answer, but in the end, whilst the location of artefacts is a political issue, this does not necessarily justify them being used as a political pawn to suit other motives.

From:
CAIS

Cyrus the Great Cylinder and Ahmadinejad’s quest for legitimacy
Saturday, 08 January 2011 10:18
By Amir Taheri

LONDON, (CAIS) — Hoping to regain a measure of legitimacy in the wake of the disputed presidential election in 2009, Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may be trying to recast himself as a nationalist leading a struggle against foreign foes.

We have already noted this trend in previous columns as, slowly but surely, the president abandoned the standard Islamist discourse in favour of a nationalist one.
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The British Museum delayed the loan of the Cyrus Cylinder to Iran for a long time due to worries over the security of the loan & guarantees that the artefacts would be returned afterwards. After extensive re-assurances, the loan eventually went ahead. Many in Iran are still questioning whether it should be returned to the British Museum when the four months are up.

From:
Guardian

Iran lays claim to British Museum’s Cyrus Cylinder
Conservative Iranian newspaper raises concern that rare 6th century BC Babylonian artefact may not be returned
# Ian Black and Saeed Kamali Dehghan
Wednesday 15 September 2010 20.06 BST

It was not an easy decision for the British Museum to lend one of its most treasured artefacts to a country which has a notoriously prickly relationship with the UK. So curators in London are paying close attention to an Iranian threat not to return the famous Cyrus Cylinder — now embroiled in political intrigue in the Islamic Republic.

The 6th century BC Babylonian object, sometimes described as the world’s first human rights charter, arrived in Iran at the weekend and is due to be displayed for four months at the national museum.
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The arrival of the Cyrus Cylinder in Iran has triggered much debating over whether Cyrus the Great should hold relevance to the Islamic Republic at all, as it was produced before the Muslim religion existed. This seems to miss the point though of treating it for what it is – something that was significant at the time it was created, not using personal interpretations of it to try & score political points.

From:
Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies

Cyrus the Great caught up in a ‘punch and Judy’ political show in Iran
Monday, 20 September 2010 09:53

LONDON, (CAIS) — Islamic Republic’s conservative MP Ali Motahhari in an open letter has criticised Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for praising Cyrus the Great during a live televised interview on Friday.

The British Museum recently loaned the Cyrus Cylinder to the Islamic Republic for a period of four months, despite the international condemnations, protests and warnings regarding its safety. The priceless artefact was put on display at the National Museum of Iran and the Islamic Republic’s president formally opened the Cyrus Cylinder exhibit on Sunday 12th.
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As a continuation of their long running dispute over the delayed loan of the Cyrus Cylinder, Iran is now requesting monetary compensation because of the delay.

From:
Reuters

TEHRAN
Mon Apr 19, 2010 6:35am EDT
Iran wants $300,000 in British Museum antiquity row

(Reuters) – Iran wants $300,000 in compensation from the British Museum over its failure to lend the Islamic Republic an ancient Persian treasure, state television reported.

The dispute over the so-called Cyrus Cylinder, named after the Persian ruler’s 6th century BC conquest of Babylon, is a further sign of deteriorating relations between Tehran and London.
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Iran’s renewed irritation with the UK over the successive delays to the proposed loan of the Cyrus Cylinder is showing no sign of abating, as they continue to press ahead with plans to cease cooperation on other cultural issues. It is worth noting again, that Iran in the past has cooperated extensively with the British Museum – not least in the loan of artefacts to them for their recent Shah Abbas exhibition.

From:
Daily Telegraph

Iran threatens to sever links with UK in row over Cyrus Cylinder
By Heidi Blake
Published: 4:15PM GMT 21 Jan 2010

Iran has threatened to cut cultural ties with the UK after the British Museum refused to hand over a 23cm clay cylinder inscribed by Cyrus the Great, the Persian king.

The museum had promised to lend Iran the cylinder, thought to be inscribed with the first declaration of human rights, after borrowing several key works form Iranian museums for its exhibition on Shah Abbas, the Iranian emperor, last year.
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