Following controversial comments by US President Donald Trump threatening to attack historical sites, UNESCO and other cultural leaders have expressed their outrage. Here are some of the country's most impressive sites.
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Impressive cultural sites in Iran
Many experts consider Iran to be a cultural cradle of humankind. From the Kingdom of Elam to Alexander the Great, to the Shah dynasties and the Islamic Republic, Iran's cultural sites reflect its history.
Image: Mohammad Reza Domiri Ganji
Persepolis
Achaemenid kings started building the palatial complex of Persepolis in 520 BC. The archaeological site reflects the former glory of the imperial capital of ancient Persia. Alexander the Great ended the rule of the Achaemenids in 330 BC by invading Persepolis and burning it down. Impressive ruins of the palaces, mausoleums, columns and reliefs can nevertheless still be admired to this day.
Image: Mohammad Reza Domiri Ganji
Tchogha Zanbil ruins
King Untash-Napirisha, ruler of the Kingdom of Elam, built Tchogha Zanbil in the 13th century B.C. With the Elamites in constant struggle with the neighboring powers of Mesopotamia, the royal city was extremely well fortified. In the center are the remains of the oldest religious building in Iran. The gigantic temple tower was once 52 meters (171 feet) high and had five floors.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H. D. Kley
Pasargadae
Located 90 kilometers to the northeast of the city of Shiraz, Pasargadae was the earliest capital of the Persian Empire under the Achaemenids and was founded by King Cyrus II in the 6th century BC. The city had a sophisticated underground irrigation system. Prehistoric monuments were also found next to the site. The picture shows the tomb of Cyrus II.
Image: picture-alliance/imageBroker/S. Auth
Monastery of Saint Thaddeus
Also known as the "Black Church," the former Armenian monastery is located in the Iranian province of West Azerbaijan. Armenian Christians believe that the church dedicated to Judas Thaddaeus was first built there in 68 AD. After being damaged by an earthquake, the structure was rebuilt in the 14th century. It is still a place of pilgrimage for Armenians from Iran and neighboring countries.
Image: Mohammad Reza Domiri Ganji
The Bazaar of Tabriz
Tabriz, on the historic Silk Road, has long been one of the most important cities in Persia, the home not only of a bazaar but also of religious and educational institutions. The world's largest covered bazaar had its heyday in the 13th century when Tabriz was the capital of the Safavid Empire. The Safavids later ruled throughout Persia and established Shiite Islam as the state religion.
Image: picture-alliance/Dumont/T. Schulze
Sheikh Safi al-Din Khanegah and Shrine Ensemble in Ardabil
A poet and mystic, Sheikh Safi al-Din was the namesake of the Safavid dynasty. The architectural complex named after him, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2010, includes a onetime Sufi center and the sheikh's tomb. As the founder of this first Sufi religious complex in the Ardabil region, Safi al-Din lived there with his family. It later became a sacred place for the Safavids.
Image: picture-alliance/Design Pics/P. Langer
The ancient city of Yazd
Located the geographic center of modern-day Iran, the city of Yazd was established in an oasis between the Kawir salt desert and the Lut desert. A center of Zoroastrian religion, it is renowned for its fire temples. A special system of water channels and pipes, known as qanat technology, was created to supply water, and wind towers were built for cooling.
Image: picture-alliance/ZB/R. Zimmermann
Fire temple in Yazd
Fire is the most important of the four Zoroastrian elements, and fire temples are a central location of worship. Zoroastrians do not use them as a prayer house in the classic sense though, but instead as a space for meetings and exchanges, devotions and memories. Yazd is the heart of the Zoroastrian religion, which had its heyday between the 2nd and 7th centuries AD.
Image: Mohammad Reza Domiri Ganji
Eram Garden
Eram Garden is an impressive example of the historic Persian gardens first built in the Middle Ages. Surrounded by high walls, they usually include a water channel and a summer palace. An important part of Persian culture, the gardens embodied the idea of earthly paradise — the word itself is actually derived from the ancient Persian term for garden, "Paradaidha."
Image: Mohammad Reza Domiri Ganji
The Si-o-se-pol bridge in Isfahan
One of 11 bridges over the Zayandeh River, the Si-o-se-pol has 33 arches. The two-story viaduct was built in the Safavid period in the early 16th century. Covered arcades enclose the main traffic route on both sides, and wide stairs lead to the promenades along the bridge. In roofed tea houses one can drink tea and smoke a waterpipe.
Image: Mohammad Reza Domiri Ganji
The Golestan Palace in Tehran
Dating from the end of the 18th century, the onetime Qajar government palace was the official seat of the Persian monarch before the Islamic Revolution in 1797. Between 1925 and 1945, a large part of the palace was demolished to make room for new buildings. Today the palace houses a museum displaying ancient ceramics, jewelry and weapons.
Image: picture-alliance/imagebroker/S. Auth
The Azadi Tower in Tehran
The 45-meter-high (148-foot-high) Azadi Tower ("Freedom Tower") is the symbol of modern Tehran. Formerly called Shahyad Tower ("Memorial of the Shahs"), it was built between 1969 and 1971 to mark the 2,500th anniversary of the foundation of the Imperial State of Iran. The tower is covered with over 25,000 white marble stones and is a link between Islamic and Sassanid architectural style.
Image: Mohammad Reza Domiri Ganji
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The director-general of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, received on Monday the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to discuss the tensions in the Middle East that could affect cultural heritage sites in the region.
Azoulay recalled that Iran and the United States were among the signatories of two conventions, one of 1954 and one from 1972, through which states pledge they will not undertake any deliberate measures that might damage cultural and natural heritage on the territory of other states party to those conventions.
The UNESCO director-general also stressed "the universality of cultural and natural heritage as vectors of peace and dialogue between peoples, which the international community has a duty to protect and preserve for future generations."
Joining the UN's cultural agency, several other authorities have also spoken out against controversial comments by US President Donald Trump. Among them are heads of museums and cultural associations that usually avoid taking a stand on political issues.
The Association of Art Museums (AAMD), the organization representing 225 art museums in the US, Canada and Mexico, urged in a statement on Monday that, "in the event of hostilities, steps be taken to protect the cultural heritage of both Iran and Iraq."
The Metropolitan Museum of Art's director, Max Hollein, and its CEO, Daniel H. Weiss, also released a joint statement in reaction "to recent comments about Iran" — without, however, directly mentioning Trump's tweet.
"The targeting of sites of global cultural heritage is abhorrent to the collective values of our society. Our world knows precisely what is gained from protecting cultural sites, and, tragically, what is lost when destruction and chaos prevail," wrote the Met leaders on Twitter. "At this challenging time, we must remind ourselves of the global importance of protecting cultural sites — the objects and places by which individuals, communities, and nations connect to their history and heritage."
Tristram Hunt, director of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, also denounced Trump's threats to destroy Iran's important cultural sites: "Just as the bulldozing of Palmyra & significant heritage sites by ISIS was abhorrent," he wrote in a tweet, continuing on by condemning the "worrying step towards the normalization of cultural destruction as a war aim."
What's left of the ancient city of Palmyra?
Syria's state news agency has reported that "Islamic State" militants have demolished a famous monument and damaged a theater in the ancient city of Palmyra. This is not the first time IS has destroyed ancient relics.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Eid
IS strikes again
What is now left of the ancient ruins at Palmyra - known as the "Pearl of the Desert" - is uncertain after a new strike by IS militants on Thursday. This photo shows the face of statue at a destroyed museum in March 2016. Syrian government forces had recaptured Palmyra that month from jihadists, who view the UNESCO-listed site's ancient ruins as idolatrous.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Eid
Once grandiose, now rubble
This image of Palmyra's Tetrapylon was taken in 2014. If SANA agency reports are correct, this monument is no longer standing. Current images after Thursday's reported strike are still unavailable.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Eid
Amphitheater also suffers a blow
This image shows the Roman amphitheater, which was originally built around 200 A.D., in April 2016. Reports now say the facade has been destroyed by IS extremists. In 2015, jihadists used the site - which once premiered plays - for mass executions. After the city was retaken from IS last year, the Russian government staged a classical music concert here to celebrate the success.
Image: Reuters/O. Sanadiki
Never-ending destruction
Palmyra's National Museum, shown here, also suffered heavy losses under IS rule. Its treasures were looted, some were damaged and others burned.
Image: picture-alliance/Sputnik/M. Voskresenskiy
Before and after
This picture, taken last March, shows the ruins of Palmyra's Temple of Baalshamin - just two columns left standing after IS destruction the year before. The smaller image, held by the photographer, shows the image he took in 2014 - with clearly more in the background behind the columns.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Eid
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The director of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Thomas Campbell, posted his position on Instagram, pointing out that museum directors usually "remain behind the scenes." He then added: "But when the President of the United States inverts every value system our country previously stood for, and calls for destructive attacks against cultural sites in one of the oldest civilizations of the world, you have to speak out vehemently and urgently."
Trump's repeated threats — or 'open' questions?
The condemnations followed threats that started in a series of tweets by Donald Trump stating that if Iran were "to strike Americans or American assets," the US would promptly retaliate, having in its target 52 Iranian sites, including some that are "important to Iran and the Iranian culture."
On Sunday night, Trump reiterated his threat. Iran is "allowed to kill our people. They're allowed to torture and maim our people. They're allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people. And we're not allowed to touch their cultural site? It doesn't work that way," Trump told reporters.
On Monday, Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway likewise contradicted the president by stating that he "didn't say he's targeting cultural sites," but was only "openly asking" a question.
She then also added: "Iran has many strategic military sites that you may cite are also cultural sites."
However, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper ruled out military attacks on cultural sites in Iran if the conflict further escalates, despite Trump's threat.
Esper said at a news briefing at the Pentagon that striking cultural sites with no military value would be a war crime. "We will follow the laws of armed conflict," he said.
Iran has 22 cultural sites on UNESCO's World Heritage list.