The Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the heart of Tehran, has reportedly been damaged in US-Israeli airstrikes as the military campaign against Iran spirals into a wider regional conflict.
According to Iran’s cultural heritage minister, Reza Salehi-Amiri, debris and blast shockwaves from a strike near Arag Square in southern Tehran damaged the windows, doors, and mirrors of the Qajar-era complex. Salehi-Amiri described the incident as an attack on “Iran’s cultural and national identity” and said a formal report would be submitted to UNESCO.
The 16th-century Golestan Palace, also known as the “Palace of Roses,” was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2013. Originally constructed within Tehran’s historic walled city during the Safavid dynasty, it became the seat of government under the Qajar rulers after a series of 19th-century expansions and additions. Today, the complex is celebrated for its masterful integration of traditional Persian craftsmanship and architecture with Western aesthetic influences, from intricate tilework and mirrored mosaics to its centerpiece: a formal garden punctuated by sunken pools.
The palace is classified as a national monument under Iran’s 1930 Law for the Protection of National Heritage, which—along with its UNESCO designation—is intended to afford it special protections in times of war.
On February 28, a joint US-Israeli strike killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with several senior officials, sharply escalating tensions across Southwest Asia and the Persian Gulf. Iran retaliated with airstrikes on US and Israeli assets and military bases in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, unsettling a regional order long upheld by oil-rich states that have cultivated reputations as stable havens in a historically volatile region.
Bombing debris fell on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island, the emirate’s flagship cultural district and home to the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the forthcoming Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. According to Le Quotidien de l’Art, while the Louvre Abu Dhabi contains a fire-protected gallery that can function as a shelter during an attack, the building, designed by Jean Nouvel, lacks underground protective facilities.
The United Arab Emirates is home to a thriving ecosystem of galleries, museums, and art fairs that regularly draw international visitors. Yet earlier this week, Dubai’s Alserkal Avenue—its principal gallery district—temporarily shuttered, with spaces including Perrotin’s Dubai outpost, Lawrie Shabibi, The Third Line, Carbon 12, and Green Art Gallery announcing indefinite closures on social media.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s museums—including the Museum of Islamic Art and the National Museum of Qatar—have also closed, with no indication of when they will reopen. Doha’s Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art wrote on Instagram that “the safety and well-being of our visitors and staff remain our priority.”
Attempts by ARTnews to reach galleries in Tehran for comment have been unsuccessful.
Earlier this week, the conflict spread to Lebanon after Iran-allied Hezbollah launched what it described as a rocket and drone attack on a military base near Haifa, Israel, prompting retaliatory strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Local reports say at least 30 people have been killed and 150 injured in Israeli attacks. In response, Beirut’s Sursock Museum—a contemporary art institution housed in a historic building and home to major works by Etel Adnan, Saloua Raouda Choucair, and others—has announced an indefinite closure.
In a statement released on social media, UNESCO joined a chorus of U.N. bodies and senior officials, including Secretary‑General António Guterres, in condemning both U.S.‑Israeli strikes and Iran’s retaliations.
This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
