{"id":99445,"date":"2026-05-05T20:55:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T20:55:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/99445\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T20:55:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T20:55:33","slug":"regional-tensions-halt-60-foreign-archaeological-missions-to-iraq","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/99445\/","title":{"rendered":"Regional tensions halt 60 foreign archaeological missions to Iraq"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n                            2026-05-05T20:06:45+00:00<\/p>\n<p>                                    font<\/p>\n<p>                                            Enable Reading Mode<\/p>\n<p>\n                                        A-<br \/>\n                                        A<br \/>\n                                        A+\n                                    <\/p>\n<p>Shafaq News- Baghdad<\/p>\n<p>Around 60 foreign archaeological missions have been<br \/>\nunable to enter Iraq due to recent regional tensions, the head of the State<br \/>\nBoard of Antiquities and Heritage, Ali Obaid Shalgham, said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to Shafaq News, Shalgham attributed the<br \/>\ndisruption to the escalation involving the United States and Israel on one side<br \/>\nand Iran on the other since Feb. 28, which forced the cancellation or<br \/>\npostponement of excavation and survey work across multiple sites. The situation<br \/>\nhas also limited Iraqi archaeologists\u2019 access to specialized training programs,<br \/>\nboth locally and abroad, typically led by international experts, slowing<br \/>\nefforts to build national expertise.<\/p>\n<p>He added that the authority is developing temporary<br \/>\nmeasures to sustain fieldwork and protect heritage sites under current<br \/>\nconditions.<\/p>\n<p>The impact has extended to <a href=\"https:\/\/shafaq.com\/en\/society\/War-grounds-travel-Airfare-surge-paralyzes-Iraq-s-tourism-sector\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">tourism<\/a>. US-based Al-Monitor<br \/>\npointed to a sharp decline in visitors to holy sites in Najaf and Karbala,<br \/>\naffecting local economies and workers in the sector, alongside disruptions to<br \/>\nair travel and higher ticket costs.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/shafaq.com\/en\/Report\/Iraq-airspace-closure-costs-43-million-during-US-Israel-war-on-Iran\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Read more: Iraq airspace closure costs $43 million during US-Israel war on Iran<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Despite this, Iraq <a href=\"https:\/\/shafaq.com\/en\/society\/Baghdad-drives-Iraq-s-tourism-boom\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">recorded<\/a> rising numbers of Arab and<br \/>\nforeign visitors throughout 2025 and early 2026, with Baghdad leading arrivals,<br \/>\nparticularly for cultural and historical tourism, according to Interior<br \/>\nMinistry spokesperson Miqdad Miri.<\/p>\n<p>Economic\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/shafaq.com\/en\/Economy\/Iraq-tourism-surged-25-in-2024-ranking-seventh-in-Arab-world\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">data<\/a>\u00a0shows that tourism revenue grew by 25% in 2024 to<br \/>\n$5.7 billion, up from $4.6 billion in 2023, placing Iraq among leading Arab<br \/>\ntourism earners. Baghdad\u2019s profile was further elevated after the Arab Tourism<br \/>\nOrganization designated it Arab Capital of Tourism for 2025. Prime Minister\u2019s<br \/>\nadviser for tourism and antiquities Omar Al-Alawi <a href=\"https:\/\/shafaq.com\/en\/society\/Iraq-seeks-10M-tourists-annually\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">indicated<\/a> that Iraq aims to<br \/>\ndiversify beyond religious tourism and attract up to 10 million visitors<br \/>\nannually over the next decade through infrastructure upgrades and heritage<br \/>\nrestoration to boost non-oil revenues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2026-05-05T20:06:45+00:00 font Enable Reading Mode A- A A+ Shafaq News- Baghdad Around 60 foreign archaeological missions have been&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":99446,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[34793,152,2570,94,34792,1520],"class_list":{"0":"post-99445","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-iraq","8":"tag-archaeological-missions","9":"tag-breaking","10":"tag-heritage","11":"tag-iraq","12":"tag-regional-tensions-halt-60-foreign-archaeological-missions-to-iraq","13":"tag-tourism"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116523966764022202","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99445\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}