In March, before the ceasefire in the war on Iran, Reuters journalists were granted rare access to Iranian heritage sites damaged during the five-week US and Israeli air campaign.
They documented damage at 11 historic buildings, including Tehran's Golestan Palace and bazaar, four sites at Isfahan's Naqsh-e Jahan Square and the Chehel Sotoun complex.
UNESCO says it has verified damage at seven sites in Iran, including two on its international list. In two decades of ground and air warfare by the United States and its allies in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Afghanistan, Reuters could find no examples of damage to cultural heritage sites listed at the time by UNESCO.
