In a month of war, Iran’s cultural heritage has suffered huge damage

A month into the war in Iran, reports indicate extensive damage to major cultural heritage sites, including Tehran’s Golestan Palace, where destruction is concentrated in the Ayvan-e Takht-e Marmar (Hall of the Marble Throne) with its mirror-mosaic ayeneh-kari decorations. In Isfahan, Safavid-era sites have also been hit, including the royal precinct built in the late 16th to early 18th century (Safavid dynasty, 1501–1722), where early fully realized mirror-mosaic work was installed in the 17th century and was bombed in March. The Chehel Sotoun Palace has suffered severe damage, with dislodged mirror mosaics, fallen sections of painted and gilded wooden coffered ceiling, shattered windows, and cracked murals depicting mid-17th-century royal receptions. Damage has also affected the five-storey Ali Qapu Palace overlooking Maydan-e Naqsh-e Jahan, raising urgent questions about documentation, recovery planning, and who will fund and carry out restoration.

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