MNA– Secretary-General of Iranian National Commission for UNESCO Sadollah Nasiri Gheydari announced that efforts to inscribe Mount Damavand on the UNESCO World Heritage List, as Iran’s first natural site, failed due to extensive damages.

Speaking in a local ceremony on Tuesday, Gheydari said instead of Mount Damavand, the Lut Desert was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List on July 17, 2016, to became Iran’s first natural heritage.

According to the law, he noted, five percent of the country's energy consumption should be of clean sources, but this has not been achieved.

Mining on the foothills of Damavand, 70 km northwest of Tehran, are among other reasons acting as an obstacle to its recognition by UNESCO. Mining operations in Damavand have cut into the mountain’s surface using heavy machinery, which has left holes as deep as 20 meters in different areas.

At 5,610 meters, Damavand is the highest peak in the Middle East and the highest volcano in Asia.

Damavand is a volcanic mountain, which makes it rich in lightweight rocks that are widely used in construction for insulation and to reduce the weight of buildings. Mining operations in Damavand have cut into the mountain’s surface using heavy machinery, which has left holes as deep as 20 meters in different areas.