Several landmarks across Iran have been damaged during the ongoing conflict, according to Iranian authorities and Unesco.
The UN cultural agency says at least four of Iran’s 29 World Heritage sites have been affected since the start of the war, with other historic locations also damaged, raising concerns about the safety of centuries-old monuments.
“Unesco is deeply concerned by the first impact that the hostilities are already having on many sites,” Lazare Eloundou Assomo, director of the World Heritage Centre, told Reuters, adding the team were also worried about sites in Israel, Lebanon and across the Middle East.
Here are six sites that have been confirmed as damaged and one that was in proximity to a reported blast.
Golestan Palace
Golestan Palace, Tehran’s only Unesco World Heritage site, was damaged during a strike near Arg Square in central Tehran.
Dating back to the 14th century and later becoming the seat of the Qajar dynasty, the palace complex is known for its ornate halls and gardens. Photos from the site show shattered woodwork and piles of smashed glass, including damage to the famed Hall of Mirrors.
Chehel Sotoun
The Chehel Sotoun palace and garden in Isfahan, a 17th-century Safavid dynasty pavilion set within a Persian garden complex, sustained serious damage during air strikes in the city.
Images released by Iran’s culture ministry show broken decorative tiles, fallen murals and damaged wooden panels. The complex was inscribed as a Unesco World Heritage site in 2011.
Ali Qapu Palace
Ali Qapu Palace, another Safavid-era landmark overlooking Isfahan’s historic centre, was also reportedly damaged.
Videos broadcast on state television shows interior decorative elements destroyed after blast waves from nearby strikes hit the area around the complex.
Jameh Mosque
Isfahan's Masjed-e Jameh – one of the oldest mosques in Iran and an important example of Islamic architecture – was damaged when blast waves caused turquoise tiles to fall from the structure.
The mosque, inscribed as a Unesco World Heritage site in 2012, reflects more than a thousand years of architectural evolution.
Naqsh-e-Jahan Square
Strikes in Isfahan targeted the provincial governor’s building near Naqsh-e-Jahan Square, a vast Safavid-era ceremonial plaza built in 1598.
Many of the city’s most important monuments sit around the square, and officials said blast waves from attacks reverberated across the historic complex.
Falak-ol-Aflak Castle
Falak-ol-Aflak Castle, also known as Shapur Khast Castle, was seriously damaged during an air strike in Lorestan province.
The hilltop fortress dates back to the Sassanian era, between the third and seventh centuries. Iran’s culture ministry said nearby cultural offices were destroyed and two museums were also affected.
Prehistoric sites of Khorramabad Valley
Unesco said buildings close to the buffer zone of the prehistoric sites of the Khorramabad Valley, which are on the tentative world heritage list for Unesco, were damaged in a reported blast.
The valley itself contains prehistoric caves and archaeological remains documenting some of the earliest human habitation in the region.
