A coalition of 30 Iranian non-governmental organizations and cultural heritage institutions has urged international bodies to take immediate action to protect Iran’s cultural heritage following extensive damage to historical sites during recent military clashes involving Iran, the United States, and Israeli forces.
In a joint statement released on Tuesday, the coalition called on entities including the United Nations secretary-general, UNESCO, the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and other global heritage organizations to investigate the damage and hold those responsible accountable under international law. The appeal came after what the coalition described as attacks that damaged 132 historic monuments and sites across 18 Iranian provinces between February 28 and April 8, 2026.
The coalition’s figures are based on documentation from Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, supplemented by media reports and field observations. These numbers differ slightly from an earlier Ministry report, which cited damage to 149 historical buildings and structures during the conflict; the discrepancy between the two has not been explained.
Among the damaged sites are several internationally recognized monuments, notably the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Golestan Palace and Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan. Others include Chehel Sotoun Palace, the Imam Mosque (Masjed-e Jameh Abbasi), Azadi Tower, Sepahsalar Mosque, the Tomb of Baba Taher, Falak-ol-Aflak Fortress, Safiabad Palace, and the Kuh-e Khajeh archaeological site.
The organizations contend that these attacks violate international humanitarian law, especially the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its protocols. The coalition warned that deliberate targeting of protected cultural sites could amount to war crimes under international law.
Specific examples cited include the attack on the Art Research Institute of the Iranian Academy of Arts, a 1931 building designed by architect Nikolai Markov, which had no military use and was struck by a rocket. They also pointed to the destruction of the Rafi’zadeh Synagogue and the loss of historical Torah scrolls, an incident they argued could constitute a violation of the Rome Statute’s provisions on war crimes and U.N. Security Council Resolution 2347, which mandates protection of cultural heritage during armed conflict.
The coalition proposed six immediate actions, such as dispatching independent teams to assess damages, creating legal mechanisms for compensation and reconstruction, activating UNESCO’s Heritage Emergency Fund to support restoration efforts, promoting research to document oral histories tied to the conflict, reinforcing the Blue Shield International framework to protect endangered heritage, and enhancing international cooperation to prevent illicit trafficking of Iranian cultural objects through Interpol and the World Customs Organization.
Copies of the statement were also sent to international media, academic institutions, and legal experts specializing in international law, archaeology, and West Asian studies for further review.
Signatories representing a range of Iranian cultural, archaeological, and heritage organizations underscored that the destruction of cultural heritage inflicts not only physical damage but also erodes a shared human history, calling upon the international community to uphold its legal and ethical responsibilities to safeguard cultural assets in times of war.