US-Israel Strikes Damage 17th-Century Chehel Sotoun Palace In Isfahan, Iran
8March 13, 2026
On March 9, airstrikes by the US and Israel on the Iranian city ofIsfahandamaged the Safavid-eraChehel Sotoun Palace, aUNESCOWorld Heritage Site, and other nearby cultural landmarks. While the Chehel Sotoun Palace was not directly targeted, the damage to it was likely caused by shock waves from missile strikes on the Isfahan Governor’s office. Other structures in close proximity including the Rakib Khaneh Mansion, the Timurid Hall, Ashraf Hall, Ali Qapu Palace, and Naqsh-e Jahan Square also sustained damage. The latter twositesare on UNESCO’s World Heritage list.
Footage released byCHTN, a media outlet affiliated with Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage, showed the Chehel Sotoun Palace’s shattered windows, crumblingmuqarnas(honeycomb-like vaulted ceilings), and cracked murals in the strike’s aftermath. The damage to the palace and neighboring heritage sites was laterconfirmedin a statement by Rouhollah Seyyed al-Asgari, the Deputy for Cultural Heritage of Isfahan Province.
Isfahan is known for its array of cultural heritage sites, many produced during the Safavid dynasty. Built by the Safavid ruler Abbas I, the Chehel Sotoun Palace is known as the “Forty Columns Palace,” as the rows of columns framing its entrance are doubled in an adjacent reflecting pool. The palace’s many murals are the work of famed Safavid-era artist Reza Abbasi. In 1980, a conservation project conducted on the Chehel Sotoun, Ali Qapu, and Hasht Beshesht Palace was awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Shortly before the start of the ongoing war, the Chehel Sotoun Palace had reopened after undergoing a round of restoration work. The structure and its gardens were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011.
These reports of damage to cultural property in Isfahan follow last week’s news of the historic Golestan Palace in Tehran, another UNESCO World Heritage site, being damaged in US-Israeli strikes. Targeting cultural property during armed conflict is prohibited under the 1954 Hague Convention, and the preamble to the text states that “any damage to cultural property, irrespective of the people it belongs to, is a damage to the cultural heritage of all humanity, because every people contributes to the world’s culture.”