Beyond the Battlefield: Cultural and Academic Sites in the Crosshairs of US-Israeli Campaign in Iran
TEHRAN – Beyond the immediate military objectives claimed by Washington and Tel Aviv, a broader pattern of destruction is emerging in Iran, one that Iranian authorities and cultural observers describe as a systematic campaign against the nation's intellectual and historical foundations.
According to data compiled by Iranian ministries and local media, the conflict has resulted in damage to at least 56 cultural heritage sites, 30 universities, and 55 libraries since late February. While the U.S. and Israel maintain their strikes are aimed at military and strategic targets, the physical toll tells a story of profound cultural and scientific loss.
"This is a deliberate and conscious attack on Iranian identity," Reza Salehi Amiri, Iran’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, told Al Jazeera. "When you lose the original stone of a Qajar palace or the 17th-century tilework of an Isfahan mosque, you lose a physical layer of history that cannot be manufactured again. Every crack is a permanent scar."
The targeting of educational institutions began starkly with a strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary girls’ school in Minab on February 28, which killed at least 170 people, most of them young girls. Subsequent attacks have hit prestigious centers of learning, including the Iran University of Science and Technology, the Laser and Plasma Research Institute at Shahid Beheshti University, and, in early April, Tehran's renowned Sharif University of Technology—often likened to MIT.
"Attacking universities and research centres means returning to the Stone Age," said Hossein Simaei Saraf, Iran’s Minister of Science, Research and Technology, echoing a past threat by former U.S. President Donald Trump. He noted that Iranian academics have long been targets, citing assassinations during earlier conflicts.
The cultural devastation spans centuries. In Tehran, the Qajar-era Golestan Palace and the historic Grand Bazaar have sustained damage. In Isfahan, strikes hit the 17th-century Chehel Sotoun Palace and the Masjed-e Jame, a UNESCO-listed mosque representing twelve centuries of architectural evolution. The Falak-ol-Aflak Castle in Lorestan province was also damaged in March.
Minister Amiri condemned the international community's silence, explicitly criticizing UNESCO for inaction despite having received the coordinates of protected sites. The UN agency confirmed it had verified damage and had provided all parties with location data to avoid such harm.
Analysts see a strategic aim behind the destruction. "What Israel and the U.S. are seeking by destroying Iran's industrial and educational capacity is to prevent reconstruction—in a bid to turn the country into a failed state," said Ali Vaez, Iran Project Director at the International Crisis Group. He added, however, that "a civilization that has survived several millennia cannot be erased with aerial bombardment."
Christopher Featherstone, an associate lecturer at the University of York, noted a shift in rhetoric from Washington. "A different administration would have tried to portray such attacks as exceptional and accidental," he said. "For this administration, Trump's extreme rhetoric almost seeks to normalize them."
The pattern evokes historical precedents. The 2003 invasion of Iraq led to the looting of the Iraq National Museum and the burning of its National Library. In Gaza, UNESCO reports Israel damaged or destroyed nearly 200 heritage sites during its recent offensive, including the ancient Anthedon Harbour and the Great Omari Mosque.
Voices & Reaction
Dr. Anahita Rostami, Historian at University of Tehran: "The destruction is methodical. It's not about collateral damage; it's about erasing the pillars of a civilization—our memory housed in libraries and our future being shaped in universities. The silence of global cultural bodies is deafening and complicit."
Mark Jensen, Foreign Policy Analyst in Washington D.C.: "While tragic, these sites are often located near or repurposed for military and dual-use infrastructure, which makes them legitimate targets in a conflict of this scale. The focus should remain on compelling Iran to cease its regional provocations."
Sarah Chen, Graduate Student & Activist: "This is cultural genocide, plain and simple. We saw it in Iraq, we're seeing it in Gaza, and now in Iran. It's a brutal playbook to destroy a people's sense of self and their capacity to rebuild. Where is the global outrage?"
David Fischer, Retired Diplomat: "The long-term strategic impact of degrading a nation's scientific and educational base is profound. It creates a lost generation and sets back development by decades, which may indeed be the intended political effect here."