TEHRAN – Non-governmental organizations, civil society institutions, and a group of cultural heritage enthusiasts will hold a protest gathering on Saturday, April 4, to condemn attacks by the United States and the Zionist regime of Israel to Iran's national and world heritage sites.

This gathering, titled “Guardians of Iran's World Heritage,” will take place from 10 to 12 a.m. at the Golestan Palace in Tehran. Its purpose is to express outrage over the destruction of historical sites due to the military aggressions of the U.S. and the Zionist regime.

Civil activists and cultural heritage enthusiasts at this gathering will emphasize the necessity of protecting Iran's rich heritage and preventing its annihilation, and they will call on the international community for attention and action to safeguard these human treasures.

During consecutive airstrikes by the U.S. and Israel since February 28, a number of Iran’s most important historical monuments and sites across multiple provinces have been damaged or destroyed.

Official sources and field reports indicate that the attacks have affected World Heritage sites, nationally registered monuments, and historic urban fabrics in the cities of Tehran, Isfahan, Sanandaj, Kermanshah, and Khorramabad, to name  a few. The incidents have raised concerns over the vulnerability of cultural heritage during military conflict, especially as many of these Iranian sites predate the very states conducting the strikes.

In Tehran, the capital, repeated explosions have caused widespread damage to numerous historic structures including the UNESCO-listed Golestan Palace, the nationally registered Glassware and Ceramic Museum of Tehran, and the Sa’dabad Complex.

In Isfahan, repeated attacks caused increasing damage to historical structures including the Imam Mosque in Naqsh-e Jahan Square, Chehel Sotoun Palace, and the Safavid-era Dowlatkhaneh complex.

In Lorestan province, Falak-ol-Aflak Castle in Khorramabad and the Archaeology and Ethnography museums have been damaged.

The tomb of poet Baba Taher in Hamadan Province and the Soleymanieh Palace Museum in Alborz Province have been damaged as well.

Geographically, Tehran Province has suffered the most with 61 sites affected, followed by Isfahan (23) and Kordestan (12). Lorestan and Kermanshah each had four affected sites, Khuzestan three, and Fars, Bushehr, Qom, Alborz, and East Azarbaijan two each. West Azarbaijan, Mazandaran, Sistan-Baluchestan, Ilam, Gilan, and Hamadan each recorded one case.

Functionally, 111 cases involved historic buildings and museums, 11 affected significant units in Tehran, and nine related to Sacred Defense heritage in Khuzestan. Fifty museums have been damaged, including 14 in the Sa’dabad Complex and seven in the Golestan Palace Complex.

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