Damage to Iran’s historical sites raises alarm about the impact of war on cultural heritage
Since the US and Israeli strikes, Unesco is tracking damage to protected landmarks in Iran, as well as heritage sites in Lebanon and Israel
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, to add more sites to its enhanced protection list.
The impact on cultural sites 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 in 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 were 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,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric says.
