The British Museum, which is facing demands from Iran to lend an ancient artifact, will send a member of staff to the country to discuss details of a loan.

In an Oct. 12 letter, the museum’s director Neil MacGregor wrote to Hamid Baqaei -- vice president in charge of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization -- that the museum hoped to lend Iran the Cyrus Cylinder once details had been worked out, British Museum Head of Press Hannah Boulton said today.

“Please let me reassure you that the British Museum is very much hoping to send the Cyrus Cylinder on loan to the National Museum of Iran,” MacGregor was quoted as writing in the letter, “but as with all our international loans, details and practicalities will have to be discussed.”

The Cylinder, a 539-530 B.C. artifact dating back to the reign of Cyrus the Great, is inscribed in Babylonian cuneiform, and has been described as the world’s earliest charter of human rights. Iran earlier this month said it would sever all ties with the British Museum unless a promise to send the Cylinder to the National Museum of Iran was honored.

Baqaei said earlier today on Iranian state television that MacGregor had “implicitly apologized” for the delay in sending the Cylinder, that the museum’s board had approved its loan, and that a staffer would visit Iran to discuss the timing and transportation of the loan.

Boulton said MacGregor’s letter contained no apology, and that it stated the museum’s intention of discussing the conditions of the loan with Iranian authorities. She said the board met Sept. 26, and “at that meeting they decided to appoint a member of staff to travel to Tehran to start those discussions.”

Iranian Politics

Earlier this month, the British Museum said it was monitoring the Iranian political situation to make sure the loan was made in the best possible conditions.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected in June 12 elections. Ahmadinejad has denied allegations that the poll was rigged. Iranians have taken to the streets in the tens of thousands to protest the outcome.

The British Museum promised to loan the Cylinder after its 2005-6 exhibition, “Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia,” according to Boulton. It was made clear at the time that the Cylinder would not be loaned until after the “Babylon: Myth and Reality” exhibition, which ended March 15. The British Museum also wanted the Cylinder shown temporarily in its new Iranian gallery.