An initial ceasefire took effect on 8 April after US-Israeli attacks on Iran and Iranian retaliation had begun on 28 February 2026, but exchanges of fire and threats have not fully ended. Within that uncertainty, Iranian conservators are documenting damage and trying to prevent further loss despite the possibility of renewed strikes. The Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts says it has recorded damage to 149 historic monuments across 18 provinces and 29 cities.nnAffected properties include the Unesco-listed Golestan Palace in Tehran, the seventeenth-century Chehel Sotoun Palace in Isfahan and a section of the Trans-Iranian Railway.
The force of a nearby blast damaged Golestan on the war’s second day and also affected parts of the neighbouring historic Grand Bazaar. ICOMOS says damage at Golestan has been verified, while impacts at Chehel Sotoun and Ali Qapu have been reported, and reiterates that cultural heritage must never be treated as a target.nnAt Golestan, teams are collecting, sorting and coding shattered wooden and decorative fragments so that they can eventually be reinstalled.
Sealing roofs before autumn rain causes further damage is the immediate priority, and Japan has offered conservation support. Hazardous sections at Chehel Sotoun have been stabilised and emergency scaffolding installed; full restoration awaits funding. Specialist crews repaired the damaged railway quickly enough to restore operations.nnPreliminary estimates place damage to the heritage sector at about 7.5 trillion tomans, roughly $40 million at the exchange rate cited in the assessment.
The ministry has contacted the Unesco World Heritage Centre, the secretariat of the 1954 Hague Convention and other international bodies, but concrete financial support has yet to materialise. Most major museums remain closed and collections are packed in storage or safes. The task is therefore larger than repairing stone, wood and plaster: it is to preserve cultural continuity under the continuing possibility of war.
