Damage to historical sites in Iran raises alarm about war’s impact on protected places

Strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran have damaged several cultural heritage sites, including Golestan Palace and Isfahan’s Chehel Sotoun Palace, prompting Iran and Lebanon to seek enhanced protection from UNESCO amid fears that the escalating conflict threatens historic landmarks

United Nations: US and Israeli strikes on Iran have damaged at least four cultural and historical sites, including palaces and an ancient mosque, raising alarms about the impact of the widening war on protected landmarks that are important to Iranian identity and world history.

The speed and extent of the damage have so concerned Iran and Lebanon that they sent a request to the United Nations’ cultural agency, UNESCO, this week to add more sites to its enhanced protection list.

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UNESCO confirmed that it has verified damage to the lavish Qajar-era Golestan Palace in Tehran as well as the 17th century Chehel Sotoun palace and the Masjed-e Jame, the country’s oldest Friday mosque, both in Isfahan. There also was verified damage at buildings close to the Khorramabad Valley, which includes five prehistoric caves and one rock shelter providing evidence of human occupation dating to 63,000 B.C.

At Golestan Palace, shattered glass from the mirrored ceilings blanketed the floors alongside broken archways, blown-out windows and damaged molding scattered below its glass-mosaic walls, according to Associated Press video taken March 3.

UNESCO said it provided all parties to the conflict with the geographical coordinates of the heritage sites ahead of time, “to take all feasible precautions to avoid damage.” The impact to cultural sites has not been isolated to Iran but has been felt across the Middle East and beyond, with UNESCO tracking damage to the White City in Israel, Tyre in Lebanon and elsewhere.

Collateral damage to such places has been part of the fabric of war for decades, including in conflicts between Russia and Ukraine as well as Israel and Hamas, in which dozens of sites have been damaged or destroyed.

“What is happening is clear to all: In these increasingly modern conflicts, it’s civilians who pay the price, it’s civilian infrastructure that pays the price, and we’ve all seen the destruction of priceless historical heritage,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said this week.

Damage to history

Human rights advocates are echoing that sentiment, warning that the Iran war not only has killed more than 1,000 people but upended the institutions and historical places that communities rely on.

“It causes harm to civilians because it damages or destroys a piece of their history that can be significant both to the world and also to a specific region or community,” said Bonnie Docherty, senior researcher in the arms division at Human Rights Watch. “It undermines the sort of shared identity of a local community, which can often be important for bringing people together.” Arash Azizi, who grew up in Iran before moving to the U.S. as an adult, said that because his family couldn’t afford to travel abroad when he was a child, they visited historical sites across the country. This, he says, is how he learned about his cultural identity and history.

“At times where school kids are killed, when human life is at stake, when the stakes are very high, people might think, What are a couple of broken tiles or broken glasses?'” the 38-year-old New York resident said.

“I think this is the wrong attitude,” he added. “We need a cultural context. We need to know who we are, and where we come from, and what does it all mean?”

Iranian American sees one damage site as deeply personal

For Shabnam Emdadi, a 35-year-old Iranian American also in New York, the damage to the Safavid-era Chehel Sotoun Palace in Isfahan is deeply personal. She traveled there with her dad a few years before he died.

“Those Iran trips with him were my most fond memories of him at his happiest, where he felt most at home and alive, and I’ll never forget them,” Emdadi said. “Which is why every day when I see the damage of these sites that are the core of my memories, I feel like I am also losing a piece of him.”

It was unclear if it was US or Israeli strikes that caused the damage. The Pentagon did not provide comment. The Israeli Defense Forces said it was “unfamiliar” with claims of damage to UNESCO sites.

One nonprofit group pointed to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying last week that America’s approach to the war would not include “stupid rules of engagement.” “That’s an extremely important statement because it’s those rules of engagement that embody international humanitarian law, which is not just the protection of cultural heritage, but the protection of all civilian populations and structures, including your hospitals, your schools, etc.,” said Patty Gerstenblith, president of the US Committee of the Blue Shield, an international organization dedicated to protecting heritage in conflict, disaster and crisis.

UNESCO’s protections

The affected sites are among the nearly 30 Iranian sites designated as under special protection as part of UNESCO’s World Heritage list.

Other notable landmarks on the list include the Great Wall of China, the Egyptian pyramids, the Taj Mahal and the Statue of Liberty.

The agency’s World Heritage Committee annually designates sites considered “of outstanding value to humanity” and intervenes when sites are in danger of destruction or damage. The program provides countries with technical assistance and professional training to preserve the sites.

The Trump administration announced last July that it would once again withdraw from UNESCO as it distances the U.S. from some international organizations.

The White House cited similar concerns as it did in 2018, saying it believes US involvement is not in its national interest and accusing the agency of promoting anti-Israel speech. The decision won’t go into effect until December.