Several prominent historic monuments in Isfahan, including the UNESCO-listed Chehel Sotoun palace, sustained damage from blast waves following a military strike on the provincial Governor's Office. Pro-government sources blamed American and Israeli forces for the attack, while independent monitors noted some claimed structural damage may predate the explosions.
Historic monuments in the heart of Isfahan, including the UNESCO World Heritage site Chehel Sotoun, suffered structural damage on Monday, March 9, following an attack on the nearby provincial Governor's Office. State-aligned and independent sources alike report that the blast wave from the strike shattered windows and damaged architectural elements across the city's famed Safavid government complex.
The pro-government channel حامیان پزشکیان explicitly attributed the destruction to aggressor American and Zionist regime forces, stating that their strikes targeted the heart of Isfahan's historic fabric and inflicted damage on the Chehel Sotoun palace-museum, the Rakib Khaneh mansion, and Ashraf Hall.
آخرین خبر, a conservative and state-aligned news aggregator, provided a detailed assessment of the cultural toll. According to Seyed Rouhollah Seyedal-Asgari, the Deputy of Cultural Heritage for Isfahan province, the attack occurred around 15:00 on Monday. In an interview cited by the channel, he confirmed that the explosion wave damaged Safavid mirrorwork and the borders of main doors and wooden windows at Chehel Sotoun. Additional damage was reported at Teimouri Hall, and the blast shattered windows at the iconic Ali Qapu palace in Naqsh-e Jahan Square. Seyedal-Asgari noted that interior paintings at Chehel Sotoun fortunately suffered fewer issues, and assured that museum artifacts from Rakib Khaneh had previously been "collected and transferred to a safe location" prior to the attack.Meanwhile, the widely followed independent and opposition-aligned channel Vahid Online وحید آنلاین reported that Isfahan was subjected to heavy attacks starting in the early hours of Monday morning. While sharing videos broadcast by domestic Iranian media showing broken glass and roof damage at Chehel Sotoun, Vahid Online cast doubt on the full extent of the newly claimed structural damage. The channel observed that "in comparison with previous images, it seems some of them existed previously", referring to cracks shown on the site's historic walls and paintings.
The sources reflect a clear division in narrative framing: state-aligned channels emphasize the cultural destruction caused by foreign adversaries, while the opposition-aligned Vahid Online fact-checks the extent of the damage by pointing out pre-existing structural cracks. The broader context of a wider military engagement is apparent, with reports of heavy, sustained attacks throughout the day.