On February 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks against Tehran and several other Iranian cities, resulting in the death of Iran's then Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, along with high-ranking military and civilian officials. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks against US and Israeli bases and assets in the Middle East. A World Heritage Site was impacted. Salehi-Amiri stated that one of Tehran's most important historical sites, damaged by the war, is the Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, «a masterpiece of Safavid and Qajar era architecture». He added that the Sa'dabad Palace, covering an area of approximately 100 hectares and with nearly 20 museums, also suffered severe damage in the US and Israeli attacks. In the central province of Isfahan, 23 historical and cultural sites were damaged, with the most significant being the Chehel Sotoun Palace, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, «a great masterpiece of Iranian architecture», the minister noted. He also indicated that 12 historical monuments were damaged in the western province of Kurdistan alone. Salehi-Amiri added that Iran has sent letters to eight international organizations, such as the United Nations, UNESCO, the Islamic World Organization for Education, Science and Culture, and the International Council of Museums, to inform them of the damage and risks, regretting that unfortunately, international organizations have no power to prevent the «crimes against humanity» of the United States and Israel. Following the damage to the Golestan Palace on March 2, UNESCO expressed concern for the protection of cultural heritage amid the escalation of conflict in the Middle East, stating that «it continues to closely monitor the situation of cultural heritage in Iran and throughout the region with the aim of ensuring its protection». Subsequently, UNESCO issued a warning about the fate of Iran's heritage sites, including 29 sites declared World Heritage, according to this report accessed by the Argentine News Agency. Salehi-Amiri added that the attacks by the United States and Israel did not even respect a 63,000-year-old UNESCO World Heritage site located in western Iran, known as the Khorramabad Valley. «Wherever the Americans have set foot, they have brought nothing but destruction, crimes, war, or exploitation», declared the minister. Buenos Aires, April 10 (NA) — Iran's Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts, Seyed Reza Salehi-Amiri, declared that 131 historical and cultural monuments in 20 Iranian provinces were damaged in the attacks by the United States and Israel. «They suffered severe damage, ranging from 10% to more than 50%. The largest number, 63, of the damaged historical, cultural, and cultural sites are in Iran's capital, Tehran», he stated in a recent interview with Xinhua. After 40 days of intense fighting, the United States and Iran reached a two-week ceasefire agreement on Wednesday. Both parties are scheduled to hold talks later this week in Pakistan to analyze the future situation.
