On March 2,2026, an airstrike on Tehran's Arag Square, located in the buffer zone of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, significantly damaged the Golestan Palace.

As a masterpiece of the Qajar era, this palace was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013. It is a key symbol of the fusion of traditional Persian architecture and European styles. Historically, it served as a venue for royal ceremonies and diplomatic activities, and remains one of the most iconic representations of Iran's collective memory.

So, why the Golestan Palace?

Precision weapons and precision targets

Collateral damage from military operations is a familiar justification in modern warfare. However, the United States has previously claimed that its precision-guided munitions typically have an accuracy within three meters. Furthermore, UNESCO has provided all concerned parties with the geographical coordinates of World Heritage Sites, as well as those of national significance, in order to prevent potential damage. When such a cultural landmark lies within the blast radius, the term "collateral damage" becomes hardly convincing.

On March 7, following the damage to the Golestan Palace, US President Donald Trump boasted about the capabilities of American missiles while encouraging Latin American leaders to consider military action:

"You want us to use a missile? They're extremely accurate."

"'Piu,' right into the living room."

If weapons are indeed that precise, why did a World Heritage Site end up in the explosion's radius?

In 2020, during his first presidential term, President Donald Trump tweeted that the US had "targeted 52 Iranian sites... some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture..." His statement swiftly sparked international condemnation. After facing widespread criticism, Trump backpedaled, stating that if attacking Iranian cultural heritage sites were illegal, he would "like to obey the law."

Yet, six years later, the shards of tilework and decorations from the Golestan Palace lay scattered across the ground. History, at times, responds to political rhetoric in a bitterly ironic manner - what once sounded like reckless bravado now reads disturbingly like an early rehearsal in cultural cleansing.

Why cultural heritage is always 'caught in the crossfire' of war

Cultural heritage sites have always been more than just the physical buildings themselves. As tangible markers of human civilization and its evolution, cultural heritage sites preserve national spirit, historical narratives and cultural pride. By extending the visible timeline of history, they strengthen the credibility of the past while also serving as valuable resources for cultural exchange and sustainable development. This is precisely why cultural heritage sites become so vulnerable in times of war. They cannot move, they cannot hide, yet they carry the most visible symbols of a society's past.

Deliberately targeting cultural landmarks is more than a barbaric act. It is an affront to human civilization itself, a crude form of spiritual intimidation directed at another nation's identity and historical memory, attempting to wound the dignity of people.

The 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage and the 1954 Hague Convention both emphasize the need to protect cultural property in times of armed conflict, underscoring the transcendent value of human civilization that goes beyond national borders.

Yet, war often reminds us that the existence of rules does not guarantee their enforcement. In 2001, the Taliban destroyed the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan. In 2003, the US-led forces caused significant, irreversible damage to the ancient city of Babylon in Iraq by constructing a large military base, Camp Alpha, directly on the site. A report by the Guardian also indicated that military vehicles crushed a 2,600-year-old brick pavement. In 2025, Israeli airstrikes on Yemen damaged the National Museum in the capital, Sanaa. Not to mention in Gaza, 157 sites have been verified by UNESCO as severely damaged or destroyed since October 2023, including Anthedon Harbour - an ancient, historically significant seaport active from around 800 BC to 1100 AD - and the Great Omari Mosque, built on an ancient sacred site, both now reduced to ruins.

Selective preservation: US and its double standards

The damage to the Golestan Palace once again highlights a painful reality: when destruction is linked to smaller states or non-state actors, condemnation is swift and unequivocal; but when a superpower is responsible, the language often softens into familiar US terms like "collateral damage," "unintended harm" or "target misidentification."

The United States has long positioned itself as a nation of "justice and liberty,"condemning the Taliban's destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas, the ISIS attack on Palmyra and the looting of the Mosul Museum. The US even declared, in the explanation of vote at the adoption of UN Resolution 2347, that "it is a long-standing US policy to preserve cultural heritage in situ whenever possible, thereby avoiding the need to remove cultural property from its country of origin."

Ironically, during the Cold War, the US obstructed China's efforts to reclaim war artifacts looted by Japan in World War II. In 1949, Washington went so far as to override the opposition of other members of the Far Eastern Commission, wielding its veto power to shut down the cultural restitution claims, prioritizing Cold War alliances over historical justice. This hypocrisy seems to continue today. While the US condemns cultural destruction abroad, its own military actions in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and now Iran have left cultural sites in ruins - and taken human lives. Yet, official acknowledgment of these losses has been muted at best.

Moreover, under President Trump, the US announced its withdrawal from UNESCO once again in 2025, with the actual exit scheduled on December 31, 2026, along with cutting ties with 66 other international bodies, including 31 United Nations entities, several of which focus on climate and health issues. This raises a difficult question: does the US really care about justice, or only when it's convenient?

Perhaps what US Secretary of State Marco Rubio referred to as "Western civilization" last month has already given us the answer, in a statement which critics in the US have labeled "a bald declaration of chauvinism."

Real civilization is not easily severed by bombings

For a country that has yet to experience the passage of millennia, even as it tries to claim a place within one of them, the resilience of civilization may seem unfathomable. Iran, with its nearly 5,000-year history, stands as one of the world's oldest civilizations. In the 6th century BC, the Achaemenid Persian Empire flourished, becoming the first empire in history to span three continents: Asia, Africa and Europe.

This remarkable achievement contributed greatly to the fusion of diverse peoples in the region and the advancement of human civilization. Yet, from the 4th century BC onward, Iran endured invasions and occupations by the Greeks, Arabs, Turks, Mongols, Afghans, and British and Russian colonizers. The rise and fall of the Persian Empire, along with the blending of various cultures, has shaped the rich and diverse character of their identity. A civilization with such a deep and enduring history cannot be easily broken.

Missiles may accurately destroy buildings, but they cannot precisely control how history will judge those actions. After a war, buildings will be rebuilt, airports will be repaired. What about the cultural heritage sites that are damaged? Perhaps they can only stand, scarred, as a silent testament to the future - a new history of hegemony, violence and the enduring resilience of civilization.