Provinces shield world heritage sites from war damage
Following the onset of the US-Israel conflict against Iran and aimed at protecting cultural and historical assets during crisis conditions, cultural heritage authorities in Kermanshah, West Azarbaijan, and South Khorasan provinces have announced the implementation of extensive protective measures
In this regard, Kiumars Azami, Director General of Kermanshah Province's Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Organization, announced that exquisite historical artifacts from the province's museums have been transferred to secure vaults for enhanced safety. Highlighting the continuous monitoring of historical sites by experts in recent days, he emphasized that, fortunately, no damage has been sustained by the museums thus far, according to chtn.ir.
During these inspections, the historical Moaven-al-Molk Tekyeh which houses several provincial museums, was subject to specialized oversight.
Simultaneously in the northwest, Morteza Safari, the Director General of West Azarbaijan Province's Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization reported the commencement of installing the "Blue Shield" emblem at museums and World Heritage sites across the province.
Stating that this emblem is deployed to protect historical monuments in crisis situations, he said, "This initiative has been implemented at the province’s global heritage sites and will be progressively operationalized at other historical locations."
Safari, referring to the significance of the 1,876 nationally registered and prominent sites such as Takht-e Soleyman, Qara Klisa, Hassanlu Hill in the province warned that the destruction of cultural heritage constitutes an irreparable loss to the history of both Iran and the world.
In the east, the Director General of South Khorasan Province's Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization announced the relocation of valuable artifacts from the Birjand Archaeology Museum and the Akbariyeh Garden World Heritage Site to secure repositories following the onset of the US-Zionist imposed war.
He defined the objective of this move as the primary mission of museums — the protection and preservation of historical legacies — and added that the "Blue Shield" emblem has been installed at the province's historical sites.