When US-Israeli airstrikes hit central Tehran's Arag Square, the shockwaves directly hit the walls of the adjacent Golestan Palace. Days later, the director of the city's sole UNESCO World Heritage site confirmed that while the building's facade absorbed the blast, all movable artifacts were already locked safely in secure storage and survived undamaged.
The strike occurred within the site's UNESCO-designated buffer zone, intended to shield the monument from such risks.
"After the recent escalation, the objects inside the palace were already in secure storage and were not damaged," said Afarin Emami, director of the Golestan Palace World Heritage complex.
However, Emami confirms that the building suffered "significant destruction to architectural decorative elements, particularly wooden components such as doors, windows, and decorative Orosi latticework".
She added that there were no major structural collapses reported in preliminary assessments.
The timing amplifies the loss. Renovations in the celebrated Hall of Mirrors had just been completed one week prior to the strike, according to Emami. Now, shards of its defining feature lie shattered.
"Even damage to decorative elements is serious," says Nazila Qasempour, a historian. "These were handcrafted by skilled artisans, and many of them are original pieces that cannot simply be replaced with modern replicas."
The palace is not just a building; it is a surviving monument of Persian royal history. Rooted in the Safavid era and expanded into a sprawling royal enclave under the Qajar dynasty, it bridges the ancient origins of Tehran with its modern history.
Traditional Persian craftsmanship fuses with European artistic influences across the open expanse of the Marble Throne terrace and beneath the intricate glasswork of the Hall of Mirrors.
For centuries, these exact spaces served as the stage for the coronations of Iran's last monarchs and the diplomatic ceremonies that defined the country.
This unique synthesis of traditional architecture and 19th-century modernization earned the complex its UNESCO World Heritage inscription in 2013. It stands as a living monument, attracting scholars, tourists, and historians from across the globe.
Now, heritage specialists are cordoning off those historic floors.
Museum workers are on the ground documenting the fractured woodwork. They are preparing emergency conservation measures to stabilise the remaining fragile surfaces, historic mirrors, and decorative tiles.
Conservation experts warn that even with meticulous restoration, the historical authenticity of the original materials is permanently lost.
Iranian cultural officials are treating the architectural damage as a national blow. During an early inspection of the debris inside the ceremonial halls, one official outlined the gravity of the hits.
"This is not only damage to a building," the official, who did not wish to be named, said. "It is damage to Iran's cultural identity."
The Iranian government is currently drafting a formal report to submit to UNESCO. The dossier will document the full extent of the destruction and formally request international monitoring and preservation assistance.
UNESCO had previously shared the exact coordinates of all World Heritage sites in the region with relevant military authorities to prevent accidental strikes.
Now following the Arag Square explosions, the agency issued a stark reminder. Under the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, cultural heritage sites must be safeguarded during military operations.
But outside the palace walls, international legal frameworks offer little comfort to a population navigating an active war zone.
For some Tehran residents, the damage that the palace suffered is a profound violation of their history.
"The real tragedy is that Israel considers cultural heritage as collateral damage in its war," says Matin Yazdani, a political science student in Tehran. "Golestan Palace survived revolutions and political changes for more than a century, and now it’s suffering damage during this aggression. It shows how fragile these historic sites really are."
For others, the architectural and historical losses are entirely overshadowed by the struggle to survive the bombardment.
"People are talking about it, but honestly many are overwhelmed by civilian casualties and other events happening in the country," says Morteza Hamedi, a local nurse working in Tehran. "Yes, the palace is important, but right now the lives of people are more important."
This story was published in collaboration with Egab.