War on civilization: US-Israeli strikes in Iran damage historic landmarks

TEHRAN, Iran (MNTV) — Relentless airstrikes by the United States and Israel across Iran have damaged several historic landmarks, including sites recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), alarming cultural experts who warn that centuries of history could be lost amid modern warfare.

Officials with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre confirmed that several heritage sites have sustained damage, though the full extent remains unclear, despite the U.N. agency providing geographical coordinates of the sites to all warring parties to encourage precautions.

Lazare Eloundou Assomo, director of UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre, urged all parties to respect international conventions protecting cultural property during armed conflict.

Many affected buildings bore the Blue Shield emblem — a symbol used under international law to identify cultural sites that should be protected during war. The emblem is often described as the cultural equivalent of the Red Cross.

Iranian officials sharply criticized insufficient international response. “It’s natural that a regime that won’t last a century hates nations with ancient pasts,” Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on the social platform X. “But where’s UNESCO? Its silence is unacceptable.”

The Guardian reports the governor of the historic Iranian city of Isfahan has accused the U.S. and Israel of a “declaration of war on a civilization” as heritage sites across the country suffer damage in their bombing campaign.

It assessed the most serious confirmed damage to date has been to Tehran’s Golestan Palace, dating to the 14th century, and the 17th-century Chehel Sotoon Palace in Isfahan.

Damage in Tehran

Among the sites affected is the historic Golestan Palace, a lavish 19th-century complex in central Tehran and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2013.

The palace, built during the Qajar dynasty, is famous for its mirrored halls, ornate tilework and marble throne chamber — architectural elements that have made it one of Iran’s most visited historic monuments.

According to Afarin Emami, director of the Golestan Palace World Heritage complex, blast waves from airstrikes on March 1 shattered windows and damaged delicate mirrorwork inside several halls.

Images published by Iranian media show crystal chandeliers damaged, wooden doors blown from their frames and fragments of mirrored ceilings scattered across the floors of ceremonial rooms.

Museum collections inside the palace escaped damage because they had already been moved into secure storage as tensions in the region intensified, Emami said.

Elsewhere in the capital, the sprawling Grand Bazaar of Tehran — a maze of corridors that has served as a commercial hub for centuries — sustained minor damage.

Other affected buildings include the former Senate Palace and the historic former Police Headquarters, according to Iranian media reports.

Shockwaves reach Isfahan

Days later, further strikes caused damage hundreds of kilometers away in the historic city of Isfahan, widely regarded as one of Iran’s cultural jewels.

Shockwaves from strikes near the city’s provincial governor’s office reportedly damaged structures in and around Naqsh-e Jahan Square, a vast Safavid-era plaza that forms the centerpiece of the city’s historic district.

Photographs circulating online show cracked walls, shattered windows and fallen mirrorwork at several historic buildings, including the elegant Chehel Sotoun Palace — known as the “Forty Columns” pavilion — where a large crack reportedly appeared in a 17th-century fresco depicting Safavid and Mughal rulers.

Nearby, blast waves shattered doors and windows at the monumental Ali Qapu Palace, once the ceremonial gateway to the Safavid royal court.

Damage was also reported at the Isfahan Jameh Mosque, where sections of turquoise tile and intricate calligraphic decoration were dislodged.

Within the Dawlatkhaneh complex, several structures — including Ashraf Hall, known for its gold-decorated ceilings — sustained heavy damage, with photographs showing fallen tiles scattered across office furniture.

Damage in western and northern Iran

In western Iran, an airstrike targeted the perimeter of the ancient Falak-ol-Aflak Castle in the city of Khorramabad.

The massive fortress itself — believed to date back to the Sassanian era — was not damaged. But the provincial cultural heritage office located within its protected zone was destroyed, and several staff members and heritage protection personnel were reportedly injured.

UNESCO also confirmed damage to buildings near the buffer zone of the Khorramabad Valley prehistoric sites, where archaeological evidence shows human occupation stretching back more than 60,000 years.

In northern Iran, reports suggested the Safavid-era Safi Abad Palace in Behshahr may have been affected by nearby strikes targeting a military radar facility, though no verified images have been released.

Growing alarm among heritage experts

The destruction has heightened concern among historians and conservationists who say cultural sites are increasingly vulnerable during modern conflicts.

UNESCO said it had provided the geographic coordinates of heritage sites to all parties involved in the conflict to help prevent accidental damage.

The organization Blue Shield International, which works to safeguard cultural heritage during wars and disasters, warned that attacks damaging protected monuments could potentially violate international conventions, including the 1954 Hague Convention.

Legal experts and advocacy groups, including the Jurists’ Council for a Democratic Iran, say protecting cultural heritage during war remains a global obligation.

“These monuments are not just Iran’s history,” one statement said. “They are part of humanity’s shared past.”