On 2 March 2026, a missile struck Arag Square in central Tehran. The shockwave arrived, a fraction of a second later, inside the Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the world's supreme examples of Safavid and Qajar craftsmanship. Thousands of tiny mirror fragments, arranged over centuries into geometric arabesques across walls and ceilings, fell to the floor.
The concerned site, Golestan Palace in Tehran, is Iran’s only UNESCO World Heritage site in the capital. The 400-year-old complex, famed for its intricate mirror mosaics and Qajar-era architecture, has reportedly suffered damage after nearby strikes triggered powerful shockwaves. UNESCO confirmed that the palace was affected by a blast in its buffer zone, warning that urgent technical assessment and stabilisation may be needed to prevent further deterioration.
Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Credits: UNESCO)
Often called the “Versailles of Persia,” Golestan Palace was built during the Qajar dynasty and expanded through the 18th and 19th centuries. It is celebrated for its extraordinarily brilliant interiors, particularly the famed Mirror Hall, a place where thousands of tiny mirror fragments form intricate mosiacs that scatter light across walls and ceilings. This palace represents a rare synthesis of the traditional Persian architecture along with European design influences, reflecting the cultural crossroads travelled by Iran during the Qajar period.
Recent reports from media outlets and tweets from the Embassy of Islamic Republic of Iran- Islamabad have confirmed that the blasts have damaged parts of the palace complex. While the structure itself may not have been targeted directly, powerful shockwaves from the explosions nearby have led to shattered windows and caused fragments of delicate mirror work to fall down and shatter into pieces. For conservators, such damage is especially concerning: mirror mosaics require painstaking hand restoration, and even minor losses can permanently alter historic surfaces that have endured for centuries.
Bauhaus-style buildings in Tel Aviv (Credits: UNESCO)
The threat to historic sites extends across the wider region as the conflict ripples outward. In Israel, Iranian missile strikes have reportedly damaged Bauhaus-style buildings in Tel Aviv, part of the UNESCO-listed “White City,” celebrated for its modernist architecture.
Baalbek's Temple of Jupiter (Credits: UNESCO)
Lebanon's crisis preceded Iran's. In autumn 2024, as Israel intensified its campaign against Hezbollah, strikes began falling within hundreds of feet of Baalbek's Temple of Jupiter — one of the largest Roman structures on Earth, begun perhaps 11,000 years ago. Smoke rose visibly behind its standing columns. The Iaat Gate of the citadel was destroyed; the Palmyra Hotel nearby left irreparable. In Tyre, a Phoenician city founded around 2750 BC, bombs landed near the ancient hippodrome and the city was largely evacuated. Even when structures avoid direct hits, nearby bombardments can destabilise already fragile ruins.
Lebanon Attack Heritage Site (Credits: UNESCO)
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