US-Israeli attacks on Iran’s cultural heritage sites amount to war crime: Envoy

Iran’s Ambassador to Geneva Ali Bahreini says large-scale military aggression and unlawful armed attack by the United States and Israeli regime against the Islamic Republic’s cultural heritage sites are amount to a grave violation of international law and war crimes.

Bahreini made the remark in a Thursday letter to the United Nations Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Alexandra Xanthaki, regarding the grave and alarming consequences of the US-Israeli unlawful armed attacks on Iran’s cultural rights and cultural ecosystems as of February 28. 

He said the grave and alarming disruption of the interdependence between cultural rights and cultural ecosystems was a direct outcome of the armed attacks. 

“These acts of aggression have resulted in damage to cultural heritage sites embedded within historic urban and cultural landscapes, including the UNESCO World Heritage property ‘Golestan Palace’” which cannot be characterized as incidental or confined to physical structures, he added.

He emphasized that the destruction and endangerment of cultural heritage as a result of unlawful armed attacks “constitute a profound assault on living cultural ecosystems”

“They sever the intergenerational transmission of heritage, destabilize the social and historical fabric of affected communities, and undermine the collective cultural rights of peoples whose identity, dignity, and continuity are inextricably linked to these environments,” the ambassador said.

He cautioned that the targeting of areas encompassing cultural landmarks, whether direct or indiscriminate, represents not only material devastation but a serious breach of binding international obligations governing the protection of cultural property.

“Intentional or indiscriminate attacks resulting in damage to cultural heritage may amount to serious violations of international humanitarian law and, where the requisite elements are met, could constitute war crimes,” he reiterated.

The envoy urged the UN rapporteur to publicly condemn these attacks, emphasize the urgency to safeguard cultural rights in all circumstances, including during armed conflict, and to protect cultural ecosystems as inseparable from human dignity, sustainable peace, and the preservation of cultural diversity.

“We further encourage your engagement with relevant stakeholders to prevent further destruction and to promote accountability mechanisms consistent with international law,” he wrote

The Iranian ambassador noted that the destruction of cultural heritage diminishes not only a nation's legacy but humanity's shared cultural patrimony.

The US and Israel started a fresh round of aerial aggression on Iran on February 28, some eight months after they carried out unprovoked attacks on the country. The attacks led to the martyrdom of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and more than 1,200 civilians, including women and children, as well as military commanders.

Iran began to swiftly retaliate against the strikes by launching barrages of missile and drone attacks on the Israeli-occupied territories as well as on US bases in regional countries.

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