US EditionIran, Lebanon Seek Expanded UNESCO Protections as Strikes Damage Heritage Sites
At least four of Iran's 29 UNESCO World Heritage sites, including palaces and mosques, suffered damage from US-Israeli strikes amid ongoing military conflict, UNESCO confirmed.
- Updated: March 12, 2026, UNESCO and Iranian authorities verified damage to at least four UNESCO-verified sites, including Golestan Palace and Chehel Sotoun, after strikes by U.S. and Israeli forces since February 28.
- Proximity of political and military sites to monuments has long been a concern, as strikes targeted the Isfahan provincial governor’s building near Naqsh-e-Jahan Square, placing military targets adjacent to monuments.
- Images and videos show Golestan Palace’s Hall of Mirrors shattered in Tehran, while Chehel Sotoun Palace and Ali Qapu Palace in Isfahan sustained broken tiles, fallen murals and damaged wooden panels.
- Iran and Lebanon asked UNESCO this week to add more sites to an enhanced protection list amid verified damage, while Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage urged experts to assess damage despite Blue Shield markings.
- Humanitarian groups report wide civilian and cultural destruction since Feb. 28, with the Iranian Red Crescent Society citing damage to more than 19,000 buildings, while responsibility remains contested as the Pentagon declined comment and the Israeli Defense Forces said it was "unfamiliar" with claims.
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56 Articles
Araghchi: UNESCO silence on Israel’s bombing of Iran’s landmarks ‘unacceptable’
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has slammed UNESCO’s silence on Israel’s bombing of centuries-old historical monuments in Iran, including multiple sites designated as World Heritage.
At least four World Heritage sites in Iran have been damaged by recent Israeli and American airstrikes. War damage also occurred in Lebanon near a World Heritage archaeological site, as did Tel Aviv, Israel. UNESCO is deeply concerned and urges restraint.
U.S and Israeli strikes are damaging Iranian historical sites
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.
Unesco has identified damage to several culturally important places in the Middle East since the beginning of the Iranian conflict with the US and Israel
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