First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi said on Saturday that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) should prevent bullying powers from meddling in the cultural affairs of nations, IRNA reported.
Rahimi made the remarks in a keynote speech at the opening session of the Regional Research Centre for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in West and Central Asia in Tehran on Saturday.
UNESCO should stay away from political issues as well as domination of bullying powers, he said.
Referring to the influence of certain bullying countries on international organizations such as UNESCO, he said these bullying powers have been trying to infiltrate the cultures of nations and therefore UNESCO is expected to prevent them.
UNESCO should help the countries enjoying rich civilization and culture, he said, adding that certain countries such as the US which claims to be a pioneer of cultural affairs in the world has attracted scientific and talented people from throughout the world but countries such as Iran, Egypt, Greece and China are cradles of civilizations and rich cultures.
UNESCO should protect cultural works as well as civilizations, he said.
There is no doubt that Iran with its ancient civilization and rich culture is among the top five countries in the world to this end, Rahimi said.
He expressed the hope that all countries in the world would properly safeguard their intangible cultural heritage.