UNESCO fears for fate of historical sites during US-Israel strikes on Iran

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 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 strikes on 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, told Reuters, adding he was also concerned for sites in ​Israel, Lebanon and across the Middle East.

Tehran's Golestan Palace, damaged in US-Israeli strikes, is testimony ​to the grandeur of Iran's civilization in the 19th century, he said.

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. The last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, ​held a coronation ceremony there in 1969.

Photos of the interior of the palace have shown piles ​of smashed glass and ​shards of wood ⁠on the floor and shattered woodwork.

Isfahan was one of Central Asia's most important cities and a key point on the ancient Silk Road trading ​route. Its Masjed-e Jame (Jameh Mosque) is more than 1,000 years old and ​shows the ⁠development of Islamic art 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.