The 5-week U.S.-Israeli air campaign has destroyed some of Iran's most treasured monuments.

The ancient city of Isfahan was shaken by a first wave of blasts. Minarets and domes were swaying in the famous square. Two days later, another bombing in Isfahan's city center left the 400-year-old palace complex covered with debris.

The Israeli airstrikes on March 7 and 9 shook monuments in Naqsh-e Jahan Square and Chehel Sotoun Palace - two of Iran's most prized cultural complexes. Plaster and broken tiles still crunch underfoot in some places, two weeks after the airstrikes.

Rasoul Mosavi said, "These buildings felt like a part of us", his head still covered in gauze after the explosion. He guided journalists through the museum, where he worked as a guard for 16 year. "This place is dear to me."

The intended target was less than 200 metres away from the roof: the Isfahan Governor's Building, which had been partially destroyed but appeared empty when struck. Before the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran ended, journalists had rare access in March to the palace, Naqsh-e Jahan Square and its surrounding area, and two palaces in Tehran. The journalists saw for themselves how the war had damaged Iran's historical sites, some of which are protected by an international treaty administered under the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO. The journalists reported damage to 11 historic buildings.

Experts who monitor the impact of war on world heritage sites confirmed damage to the Trans-Iranian Railway in Isfahan and the Jameh Mosque, as well as a 1,800-year-old castle near prehistoric caves where humans settled as far back as 63,000-years ago.

In the two decades that?the United States, its allies, and their coalition partners fought in Iraq, Syria Libya, and Afghanistan on ground and by air, there were no damage done to sites of cultural heritage listed by UNESCO at the time.

UNESCO is yet to send teams to sites listed in its register and relies on satellite imagery to assess 'the damage. UNESCO has'verified' damage to seven sites, including two that are on the international list, four cultural properties with national significance, and a religious place.

UNESCO said it had not been consulted before or during war, but that "all parties to the conflict" were provided with coordinates for critical sites.

The world body called on all parties to conflict to respect international law and take all necessary steps to protect cultural heritage.

The damage ranged from broken glass, cracked tile and shook foundations to shattered walls and shattered tiles. Bomb shock waves that radiated out at a speed nearly 20 times greater than sound were the main culprits. According to Wes Bryant a former U.S. Air Force targeting specialist, those waves can cause serious damage to structures up to a kilometer from the explosion itself.

Israel Defense Forces confirmed that they had targeted the Governor's Office in Isfahan. This is located adjacent to the UNESCO listed palace complex. The Israeli Defense Forces also confirmed that it struck a base of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on March 7, a little more than a kilometer away from the historical sites.

IDF stated that the IDF operated in accordance with International Law and only targeted military objectives. Israel's attacks, according to the statement, "were generally based on reliable information, operational verification and established approval processes and, when appropriate, legal review and were carried out conformément to applicable international law."

Eight experts in Middle Eastern Archaeology and Preservation of Heritage Sites said that the reporting shows a shift in U.S. Targeting Practices and Priorities away from Protecting Internationally Recognized Historical Landmarks. The Pentagon has changed its policies to protect cultural sites after two decades of widespread criticism over an American military installation in the ruins the ancient city Babylon.

Bryant stated that in recent wars historical landmarks were included on the "no-strike lists". He said this was because they had to be considered a military necessity such as saving the lives of soldiers and also receive high-level approval from officials, including the White House.

The sites that were damaged included the Golestan Palace in Tehran, the Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan and the Chehel Sotoun Complex. These sites have been confirmed by visits. Mehrnoush Soroush is the director of Center for Ancient Middle Eastern Landscapes at University of Chicago, which tracks damaged?cultural site in Iran. Her team has also confirmed damage to Jameh Mosque, in Isfahan, and the Andimeshk Railway Station along the Trans-Iranian Railway. This UNESCO-listed route connects the Caspian Sea, in the northeast, with the Gulf.

Soroush as well as UNESCO confirmed the extensive damage to Falak-ol-Aflak - an ancient fortress located in the Khorramabad valley of western Iran. Photos of window damage were verified. Israel's military warned Iranian citizens to avoid trains in early April, and Israel's official statement said that the Qom rail bridge was damaged to stop Iran from moving weapons.

Iran's UNESCO rep provided a list to the U.N. Cultural body of 134 cultural sites that it claimed were damaged by war. Despite not being listed on the UNESCO list, these sites are among Iran's most popular tourist destinations, bringing millions of tourists every year.

Only the railway was directly affected by the UNESCO site. Iran has marked its culturally most significant sites, such as the bazaar of Isfahan and the fortress located in the Khorramabad Valley with large blue shields. The Sa'dabad Complex, in Tehran, houses 18 historic palaces. The shields are an internationally recognised symbol that indicates their protected status as cultural property.

It's unbelievable. This was something I would never have imagined in my wildest dreams. Farshid Emami is an associate professor in the Department of Art History at Rice University, Texas. He has written a book about Isfahan Architecture.

The Pentagon has declined to comment.

Operation Epic Fury, the Trump administration's name for its war against Iran, was designed around four key objectives: destroy Iran’s ballistic missiles; demolish production facilities; sink their navy and weaken their proxy forces. "Unlike Iran the United States doesn't target civilians."

The gloves are off

The 1954 Hague Convention is a treaty that protects cultural heritage and explicitly protects Isfahan sites during war. International law considers the intentional targeting of cultural property to be a war crime. Any strikes against nearby targets should be carefully weighed up against any possible damage.

UNESCO's designation only covers a minority of the culturally significant monuments and buildings in a country. Some countries place more importance on their landmarks being listed by this U.N. agency. Iran has 27 sites listed, compared to 55 in Italy and just one in Uganda and Costa Rica.

The most prominent example of damage in Iraq during a U.S. led war was the ancient city Babylon. It was listed as a UNESCO world heritage site by 2019. Coalition forces used Babylon from 2003 to 2004 as a base, digging trenches at the site and installing infrastructure. Saddam Hussein had already damaged it before they arrived. Iraq also suffered cultural losses due to ground combat. These included the destruction of Mosul's old city and the looting of antiquities after the U.S. invasion. Trump withdrew America from UNESCO twice, in 2017 and 2025. He cited its support for divisive, woke cultural and social issues. The 2025 action will take effect this year.

In 2017, U.S. coalition forces led by the United States bombed Raqqa's walls, which date back to the 8th century, as a way of supporting ground troops that were fighting ISIS.

Stephennie Mulder is a professor of Islamic architecture and art at the University of Texas at Austin. She said, "As terrible as it was, I feel like that time felt like a golden age compared to the current situation, where the gloves have been taken off and no one cares." She is one of more than 400 researchers and scholars who signed the letter circulated in mid-April, condemning the destruction to Iranian cultural sites by the United States. Israel reported damage caused by an Iranian attack in Tel Aviv’s White City. This is a collection modernist buildings with Bauhaus influences from the 1930s, which are also listed on UNESCO's list. The U.N. said that it was conducting an investigation.

Pete Hegseth, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, has dismissed military engagement rules in large part. He claims that there will be "no mercies" shown to enemies. In April, President Donald Trump said that Iran's entire civilization would be destroyed if the country did not end its conflict. Both did not make a direct mention of heritage sites.

CULTURAL JEWEL

Isfahan, even by Iranian standards, is a cultural gem, compared to Rome, Athens, or Kyoto.

Isfahan is also home to a nuclear site in Iran. It sits on a vast plain of the high Iranian plateau, and straddles a river called Zayanderud. This Persian word means "life-giving". The river divides the city, with the northern part being older and home to historical sites and the southern section, which has wealthier neighborhoods and more modern residential complexes.

Residents gathered around the monuments and heritage sites near the Chehel Sotoun Palace in the Naqsh-e Jahan Square. This square is the largest in the city, measuring 14 soccer fields. It is also one of three UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Isfahan, like many other large cities in Iran, was engulfed by protests this year when anger over dire economic circumstances boiled over. The protests led to the largest crackdown since 1979's Islamic Revolution, which resulted in thousands of deaths, injuries, and prison sentences. Trump's desire to see the Iranian regime overthrown was cited as one of the main reasons for the launch "Operation Epic Fury", which took place in late February.

According to video footage, some of the Isfahan demonstrations and clashes between government forces and protesters took place in the Naqsh-e Jahan Square, and the bazaar was briefly closed during a general.

Israeli bombs targeted IRGC targets on March 7th, 300 meters away from the 400-year-old Si-o-se-pol Bridge over the River. Former residents of Isfahan claim that the complex was used as a detention facility by the elite military force. Israel's military admitted that the base was targeted.

Witnesses said that when bombs rained on the IRGC, blast waves reverberated a kilometer from the site, shaking Naqsh-e Jahan Square.

On March 9, two days later, another volley of bullets aimed at the governor's offices shook again the square and the adjacent Chehel-Sotoun Palace Complex.

Mosavi, an elderly security guard was wrapping up his shift in the Museum of Decorative Arts. The museum was converted from a '17th century royal palace. He said that he was at work because of a "queasy inner feeling".

Only 10 minutes later, twin explosions followed jets flying overhead.

The museum's windows were mostly shattered. The main hall's ceiling collapsed revealing the bones of the building. Mannequins dressed in traditional Iranian clothing were surrounded by plaster and glass.

The entire top floor of the Governor's Office, located less than 200 metres away, has been destroyed. The strike did not injure the governor. The team was not allowed to enter the building but met the governor at a café in the bazaar.

Mosavi displayed twisted gray metal fragments, which he and his employees referred to as shrapnel, at the entrance of the Museum. The fragments were similar to those found at the Sa'dabad Complex in Tehran, an 18th century site that was struck by bombs in March.

According to the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield and two former military targeting experts, heritage sites like schools or hospitals are usually on the no-strike list compiled and maintained by military and intelligence agencies. According to international law, any collateral damage must be proportional to the expected military benefit of striking a site close to a heritage or cultural site.

Patty Gerstenblith is the head of the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield. The group has trained the American military to protect cultural sites in wartime.

Gerstenblith, along with other experts, said that when Mosul and Raqqa was reclaimed by Islamic State the Blue Shield committee prepared and distributed informational material to the troops before the event. She added that without more information she couldn't judge if the Iranian strikes were appropriate from a military standpoint.

According to a document, Isfahan heritage officials made an initial assessment of the damage caused by the bombings at Naqsh-e Jahan Square. It was impossible to independently verify those findings.

Emami, an architectural historian from Rice University, stated that a thorough investigation was needed to confirm structural damage.

The bombings that occurred in Ali Qapu Palace early in March caused a tremor on a terrace which overlooked the large square, the music chamber, the marble fountain and the 18 wooden columns. Heritage officials took pictures of the crumbling wall, the cracks in the building's body, and the shattered glasses.

In the initial Iranian assessment, more than 70% the glass of windows and doors were broken and the plaster on two porches was separated from the main structure.

Ali Bordbar ran outside of his small carpet store in the bazaar when the bombings occurred on March 7. The bombings caused the two minarets at the southern edge to shake.

Bordbar said that it took hundreds of years for this site to be built. In a single moment, it could be destroyed.

The employees of the Naqsh-e Jahan complex brought in a bag filled with blue tiles that fell off when they visited the Shah Mosque. The Iranian damage assessment for the Isfahan Heritage Sites included a picture of a crack on one of the walls of the mosque.

A silver engraver at the bazaar stated that the economic effects of lost tourism revenues due to war are as devastating as the property damage or shattered glass.

The engraver stated, "This war paralyzed our nation."

The main alleys of the bazaar were nearly empty during the two days that I visited in late March. Only a few young men ran and cycled through them. Artists and musicians were setting up their stands in the bazaar, and some visitors started to arrive.

Iranians avoid speaking with foreign journalists for fear of being arrested or worse. Some expressed their dismay at the destruction of historic sites while others had more nuanced opinions.

Saeed, 32, who runs a sweets shop in the bazaar said that airstrikes had broken all the windows and the glass in his well-organized sweet shop. He declined to give his opinion on the war, as did many Iranians.

He said, "We're waiting for a good ending."

I WAS SHOCKED

The Golestan Palace is a centuries-old complex of royal buildings in Tehran. It's located just a few steps from the city's famous old bazaar. The protests began last December with the shopkeepers of the labyrinthine market. The 'labor strikes' quickly spread from the heartland of Iran’s economy, the old bazaar, to universities and cities throughout the country. The next step was a brutal Iranian crackdown. This was followed by weeks of bombing and the assassination of the supreme ruler in the 'opening salvo of war. The night of March 1, American forces and Israelis struck Tehran's judicial building adjacent to the ancient Palace, which was a sea debris with wooden artwork and mirrors falling from the ceiling.

As journalists stepped on glittering glass shards, a sharp cracking noise echoed from the ceiling of the palace. UNESCO has expressed its "concerns", over the damage to the site.

The morning of the attack was described by an archeology worker who had worked at the palace for almost 30 years. She cried as she recalled the experience.

She said, under condition of anonymity, "I was shocked and frozen to the spot in front of all that glass when I first came here."

She said that the blast waves had caused the most damage to the space in the throne.

The hall of mirrors, a few meters away was a sea of glass, which had previously adorned the walls and ceilings, as well as the pillars, of the room.

The team was denied access to the third part of a palace, which employees claimed had been damaged in blasts during the strikes on March 1. This area is prohibited, according to them, because it is adjacent to the government office that was targeted by the U.S. and Israel attacks. This building is associated with the Iranian judicial authority.

Tehran's judiciary is known for sending young Iranian men and woman who dared to criticize the regime to prison and even executions. Nearly 300 meters from the palace was the judicial building which came under attack.

The female employee who visited the palace two weeks after the destruction expressed her fears of damage that was invisible to her.

The employee stated that two employees were injured, but only in a minor way.

She suddenly announced that everyone should leave the room immediately after 15 minutes. She ran ahead, pointing at the ceiling, which she warned could collapse at any time. Maggie Michael M.B. (Reporting) Pell, Mari Saito, and Ryan McNeill. Additional reporting by Mayaan Lubell. Alaa Al-Marjani, Haider Kadhim Nour. Edited and produced by Lornant Hinnant, Sarah Cahlan.

(source: Reuters)