TEHRAN – Iran’s Minister of Cultural 
Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Reza Salehi Amiri said his ministry has formally appealed to international organizations, including UNESCO and the World Tourism Organization, to intervene in protecting Iran’s cultural and natural heritage from the risks posed by recent Israeli military aggression.
In a letter addressed to UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, Iran urged the UN agency to take “immediate and effective measures” in response to direct threats to its heritage sites during the recent 12-day conflict. 
Salehi Amiri cited international legal instruments, including the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and the 1972 World Heritage Convention, to underscore UNESCO’s and the global community’s responsibility.
Salehi Amiri said UNESCO had conveyed Iran’s concerns as an official warning to Israel. “We are aware that the Director-General of UNESCO has reflected this issue to the Zionist regime as a formal concern,” he said.
Salehi Amiri also noted that over 100 Iranian intellectuals, academics, and cultural figures had issued a joint letter stressing the urgent need to protect Iran’s cultural heritage, which they described as “a symbolic and irreplaceable capital of the nation.”
Iran is home to more than 40,000 nationally registered historical sites and 28 UNESCO-inscribed properties. These include a wide range of cultural, natural, and historical treasures such as the Persian Qanats, Hyrcanian forests, historical gardens, the national railway, and 54 caravanserais recently listed as world heritage sites. More than 50 additional sites are currently on UNESCO’s tentative list for potential future registration.