Protect Iran's endangered cultural heritage sites during armed conflict
Protect Iran's endangered cultural heritage sites during armed conflict
Le problème
To UNESCO, Blue Shield International, ICOMOS, ICOM, ICCROM, OWHC, and the international archaeological and cultural heritage community
Under the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, damage to the cultural property of any country or people is recognized as damage to the cultural heritage of all mankind, which is why its preservation requires international protection. Its protection is also essential because access to cultural heritage is closely linked to the effective enjoyment of cultural rights and other human rights, including identity, memory, and human dignity. For these reasons, intentional attacks against cultural heritage during armed conflict are not only morally unacceptable but may constitute serious violations of international law and, as confirmed by the International Criminal Court in the Al Mahdi case, may amount to war crimes. This protection is further reinforced at the United Nations level by Security Council Resolution 2347 (2017), which recognizes the grave importance of safeguarding cultural heritage in situations of conflict (see here: https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/s/res/2347-%282017%29)
We, the undersigned researchers, archaeologists, architects, historians, museum professionals, conservators, cultural heritage specialists, and members of the wider scholarly community, express our profound alarm at the damage inflicted on cultural heritage sites in Iran (https://whc.unesco.org/fr/etatsparties/ir) during the ongoing US and Israeli war against Iran that began on 28 February 2026.
According to official figures released by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Iran, more than 131 museums and historical monuments in Iran have been damaged across 17 provinces and 26 cities. The highest concentration of damage has been recorded in Tehran, where 66 sites were affected. It should be noted, however, that these figures are based on city-level reports and do not include archaeological sites situated outside urban areas. Historic urban fabrics listed separately: Tehran, Isfahan, Sanandaj, Kermanshah, Qom, Khansar, and Tabriz.
The scale and geographical spread of these losses are deeply alarming. Among the damaged sites in Tehran are Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage property (Date of Inscription: 2013, Dossier: 1422 https://whc.unesco.org/fr/list/1422/), the historical citadel of Tehran, the historical Tehran Bazaar, Marble Palace, the historical Police Headquarters building, the former Senate building, Sepahsalar Mosque, and the Farahabad Palace Museum. In Kurdistan Province, affected monuments include Salar Saeed Mansion, now housing the Sanandaj Archaeological Museum, Khosroabad Museum and Asif Vaziri Mansion. In Isfahan Province, damage has been reported at the Naqsh-e Jahan Square complex (Date of Inscription: 1979, Dossier: 115: (https://whc.unesco.org/fr/list/115/), the Chehel Sotoun Palace, the Abbasi Friday Mosque, and parts of the historical urban fabric of the city. Other reported cases include Falak ol Aflak Fort in Lorestan (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1744/), Tekyeh Biglarbeigi and the historic Kazazi School in Kermanshah, Sabzabad Mansion and the port of Siraf (https://whc.unesco.org/fr/listesindicatives/5195/ in Bushehr Province, and the Darreh Shahr Archaeological Museum in Ilam.
These sites, monuments, and historical buildings span a remarkable chronological range, from Late Antiquity (the Sasanian period) to the nineteenth century. Many of them are internationally known for their historical, architectural, and cultural significance. They represent not only the rich and diverse heritage of Iranian civilization, but also an irreplaceable part of the shared cultural legacy of humanity.
That such a scale of damage and destruction could occur within only thirty days of war is both shocking and profoundly alarming. The reported impact on so many important sites, including globally recognized monuments and historic urban areas, demonstrates the extreme vulnerability of cultural heritage in times of conflict. These losses are not merely material. They affect collective memory, cultural identity and the historical record shared across generations.
We therefore call for immediate and public action.
We call upon UNESCO, the aforementioned international organizations and other relevant international bodies to:
Publicly condemn all attacks that have damaged or endangered cultural heritage sites in Iran.
Urgently assess and document the damage to affected museums, monuments, archaeological sites, and historical urban areas through independent professional evaluation and international monitoring.
Strengthen emergency protection measures for endangered heritage sites and take all possible steps to prevent further destruction.
Press all parties to the conflict to respect their obligations under international law and to refrain from any attack or endangerment of cultural property.
Support cultural heritage professionals, museums, and local institutions in emergency stabilization, conservation planning, and post-conflict recovery.
The protection of cultural heritage must remain a universal responsibility, especially in times of war. Silence and inaction risk enabling irreversible destruction before it is too late. We urge UNESCO and the broader international heritage community to respond now, clearly, publicly, and without delay.
More information about these damages can be found in the following news reports:
2- CAMEL: https://camel-heritage-watch.lovable.app/
3-Radio France: https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/podcasts/l-info-culturelle-reportages-enquetes-analyses/en-iran-le-patrimoine-mondial-en-peril-4-sites-classes-par-l-unesco-ont-deja-subi-de-lourds-degats-2116722
4-RFI: https://www.rfi.fr/fr/podcasts/invit%C3%A9-international/20260313-patrimoine-iranien-les-lieux-ne-sont-pas-vis%C3%A9s-directement-ce-sont-des-dommages-collat%C3%A9raux
7- Al Jazeera: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/17/are-the-us-and-israel-waging-war-on-irans-cultural-heritage
8-Deutsche Welle: https://www.dw.com/en/us-israeli-strikes-damage-irans-cultural-heritage-sites/a-76350565
12- UNESCO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AHTFqNgvws
13- THE BLUE SHIELD: https://uscbs.org/statement-iran-conflict-cultural-heritage-march-2026/
100
Le problème
To UNESCO, Blue Shield International, ICOMOS, ICOM, ICCROM, OWHC, and the international archaeological and cultural heritage community
Under the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, damage to the cultural property of any country or people is recognized as damage to the cultural heritage of all mankind, which is why its preservation requires international protection. Its protection is also essential because access to cultural heritage is closely linked to the effective enjoyment of cultural rights and other human rights, including identity, memory, and human dignity. For these reasons, intentional attacks against cultural heritage during armed conflict are not only morally unacceptable but may constitute serious violations of international law and, as confirmed by the International Criminal Court in the Al Mahdi case, may amount to war crimes. This protection is further reinforced at the United Nations level by Security Council Resolution 2347 (2017), which recognizes the grave importance of safeguarding cultural heritage in situations of conflict (see here: https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/s/res/2347-%282017%29)
We, the undersigned researchers, archaeologists, architects, historians, museum professionals, conservators, cultural heritage specialists, and members of the wider scholarly community, express our profound alarm at the damage inflicted on cultural heritage sites in Iran (https://whc.unesco.org/fr/etatsparties/ir) during the ongoing US and Israeli war against Iran that began on 28 February 2026.
According to official figures released by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Iran, more than 131 museums and historical monuments in Iran have been damaged across 17 provinces and 26 cities. The highest concentration of damage has been recorded in Tehran, where 66 sites were affected. It should be noted, however, that these figures are based on city-level reports and do not include archaeological sites situated outside urban areas. Historic urban fabrics listed separately: Tehran, Isfahan, Sanandaj, Kermanshah, Qom, Khansar, and Tabriz.
The scale and geographical spread of these losses are deeply alarming. Among the damaged sites in Tehran are Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage property (Date of Inscription: 2013, Dossier: 1422 https://whc.unesco.org/fr/list/1422/), the historical citadel of Tehran, the historical Tehran Bazaar, Marble Palace, the historical Police Headquarters building, the former Senate building, Sepahsalar Mosque, and the Farahabad Palace Museum. In Kurdistan Province, affected monuments include Salar Saeed Mansion, now housing the Sanandaj Archaeological Museum, Khosroabad Museum and Asif Vaziri Mansion. In Isfahan Province, damage has been reported at the Naqsh-e Jahan Square complex (Date of Inscription: 1979, Dossier: 115: (https://whc.unesco.org/fr/list/115/), the Chehel Sotoun Palace, the Abbasi Friday Mosque, and parts of the historical urban fabric of the city. Other reported cases include Falak ol Aflak Fort in Lorestan (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1744/), Tekyeh Biglarbeigi and the historic Kazazi School in Kermanshah, Sabzabad Mansion and the port of Siraf (https://whc.unesco.org/fr/listesindicatives/5195/ in Bushehr Province, and the Darreh Shahr Archaeological Museum in Ilam.
These sites, monuments, and historical buildings span a remarkable chronological range, from Late Antiquity (the Sasanian period) to the nineteenth century. Many of them are internationally known for their historical, architectural, and cultural significance. They represent not only the rich and diverse heritage of Iranian civilization, but also an irreplaceable part of the shared cultural legacy of humanity.
That such a scale of damage and destruction could occur within only thirty days of war is both shocking and profoundly alarming. The reported impact on so many important sites, including globally recognized monuments and historic urban areas, demonstrates the extreme vulnerability of cultural heritage in times of conflict. These losses are not merely material. They affect collective memory, cultural identity and the historical record shared across generations.
We therefore call for immediate and public action.
We call upon UNESCO, the aforementioned international organizations and other relevant international bodies to:
Publicly condemn all attacks that have damaged or endangered cultural heritage sites in Iran.
Urgently assess and document the damage to affected museums, monuments, archaeological sites, and historical urban areas through independent professional evaluation and international monitoring.
Strengthen emergency protection measures for endangered heritage sites and take all possible steps to prevent further destruction.
Press all parties to the conflict to respect their obligations under international law and to refrain from any attack or endangerment of cultural property.
Support cultural heritage professionals, museums, and local institutions in emergency stabilization, conservation planning, and post-conflict recovery.
The protection of cultural heritage must remain a universal responsibility, especially in times of war. Silence and inaction risk enabling irreversible destruction before it is too late. We urge UNESCO and the broader international heritage community to respond now, clearly, publicly, and without delay.
More information about these damages can be found in the following news reports:
2- CAMEL: https://camel-heritage-watch.lovable.app/
3-Radio France: https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/podcasts/l-info-culturelle-reportages-enquetes-analyses/en-iran-le-patrimoine-mondial-en-peril-4-sites-classes-par-l-unesco-ont-deja-subi-de-lourds-degats-2116722
4-RFI: https://www.rfi.fr/fr/podcasts/invit%C3%A9-international/20260313-patrimoine-iranien-les-lieux-ne-sont-pas-vis%C3%A9s-directement-ce-sont-des-dommages-collat%C3%A9raux
7- Al Jazeera: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/17/are-the-us-and-israel-waging-war-on-irans-cultural-heritage
8-Deutsche Welle: https://www.dw.com/en/us-israeli-strikes-damage-irans-cultural-heritage-sites/a-76350565
12- UNESCO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AHTFqNgvws
13- THE BLUE SHIELD: https://uscbs.org/statement-iran-conflict-cultural-heritage-march-2026/
100
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Pétition lancée le 16 mars 2026