UNESCO has said it is deeply concerned about the fate of world heritage sites in Iran and across the region, after Tehran's Golestan palace, often compared to Versailles, and a historic mosque and palace in Isfahan were damaged in the war.
The United Nations' cultural agency on Wednesday urged all parties to protect the region's outstanding cultural sites, saying four of Iran's 29 world heritage sites had been damaged since the start of the US and Israeli war with Iran.
"UNESCO is deeply concerned by the first impact that the hostilities are already having on many world heritage sites," Lazare Eloundou Assomo, director of the World Heritage Centre, said, adding he was also concerned for sites in Israel, Lebanon, and across the Middle East.
Golestan Palace: 'Iranian Versailles'
The palace was chosen as the Persian royal residence and seat of power by the Qajar family, and shows the introduction of European styles in Persian arts, according to the UNESCO website.
"We sometimes even compare it with the Versailles Palace in France, for instance, and it has suffered, unfortunately, some damage. We don't know the extent for the moment. But clearly, with the images that we have been able to receive, we can confirm ... it has been affected," Eloundou Assomo said.
Photos of the interior of the palace have shown piles of smashed glass and shards of wood on the floor, and shattered woodwork.
The comments came amid fears that the war could cause broader destruction. US President Donald Trump warned that the United States could strike targets that would make it “virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again.”
Call for protection
Elsewhere in Iran, Isfahan — once one of Central Asia’s most important cities and a major Silk Road hub — is home to the Masjed-e Jame (Jameh Mosque), a mosque more than 1,000 years old that reflects the evolution of Islamic architecture through 12 centuries.
Buildings close to the buffer zone of the prehistoric sites of the Khorramabad Valley have also been damaged, UNESCO said.
UNESCO has shared coordinates of key cultural sites to all parties, Eloundou Assomo said, and was monitoring damage.
"We are calling for the protection of all sites of cultural significance ... everything that tells the history of all the civilisations of the 18 countries in the region," he said.
