In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera published on April 1, 2026, Iran’s Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, Reza Salehi Amiri, described the destruction of historical sites as a “deliberate and conscious attack” on Iranian identity and civilisation.
“We are not talking about stone and mortar,” Amiri said while gesturing to a mangled chandelier at Tehran’s Golestan Palace. “We are talking about the memory and history of a people. This stone represents who we are.”
Extensive Damage Documented
Since the US-Israeli military campaign began on February 28, 2026, at least 56 museums, monuments and historical sites across Iran have sustained damage. Key affected locations include UNESCO-listed Golestan Palace in Tehran, where mirrored halls, ornate 19th-century ceilings and arched windows were shattered. In Isfahan, 17th-century Safavid-era sites such as Chehel Sotoun Palace and Iran’s oldest Friday mosque, Masjed-e Jame, were also hit.
The ministry has deployed over 300 experts for assessment. Amiri noted that while some restoration is possible, “every crack is a permanent scar” and original artefacts can never fully return to their prior state.
Broader Condemnation
Amiri criticised the strikes as a “total collapse of the moral and legal rules” governing conflicts and a dangerous precedent for global heritage protection. He highlighted that even during the 1980–88 Iran-Iraq war, historical monuments were largely spared systematic damage. The minister called international silence on the issue “a betrayal of human history,” while stressing that attacks cannot destroy the Iranian people’s deep faith in their civilisation.
Iran continues documentation and preservation efforts amid the ongoing conflict.