Iran reports that American and Israeli airstrikes have destroyed or damaged 120 cultural institutions and ancient landmarks.

A massive plume of smoke billows into the air, accompanied by a chunk of concrete, as the eastern outskirts of Tyre in southern Lebanon bear the brunt of an Israeli airstrike on March 24, 2026.

n

Lebanon's entanglement in the Middle East war began when Iran-backed Hezbollah launched a rocket attack on Israel on March 2, seeking revenge for the killing of Iran's supreme leader, prompting Israel to retaliate with strikes across Lebanon that have claimed at least 1,039 lives and displaced over a million people, while also deploying ground troops to the country's southern region.

n

US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran have inflicted significant damage on at least 120 culturally and historically significant sites nationwide since the conflict commenced, according to Ahmad Alavi, the head of Tehran city council's heritage committee.

n

Alavi revealed that a multitude of museums, historical buildings, and cultural sites across various provinces have suffered direct hits, resulting in severe structural damage, with notable examples including the UNESCO-listed Golestan Palace, often compared to Versailles, as well as Tehran's Marble Palace, Teymourtash house, and Saadabad Palace.

n

The Saadabad Palace complex, a popular tourist destination in the capital, encompasses an expansive park and museums showcasing Iranian history, in addition to serving as the residence of the Iranian president and the governor of Tehran province, with nearby facilities housing judicial and Revolutionary Guards offices.

n

The US and Israel initiated their military campaign against Iran on February 28, eliminating the country's supreme leader and sparking a war that has since drawn in nearly the entire Middle East.

n

Iran, with its rich history spanning several millennia, boasts a significant cultural heritage that has largely remained untouched by mass tourism, but the ongoing conflict has taken a toll on its historical sites.

n

According to the UN, the war has damaged at least four of Iran's 29 UNESCO-listed sites, including the Golestan Palace, Chehel Sotoun Palace in Isfahan, the Masjed-e Jame mosque in the same city, and the prehistoric sites of the Khorramabad Valley.