TEHRAN – In response to a recent Israeli attack on Iranian territory, Iranian authorities completed the emergency relocation of major historic artifacts from major museums on Friday to storage facilities around the country.
Officials within Iran’s Cultural Heritage Protection Unit said the relocation was implemented as a safeguard to protect Iran’s most valuable museum collections from potential destruction, theft or damage during ongoing military tensions.
The move sparked an unannounced, widespread airstrike carried out by Israeli forces early on June 13th. This targeted several parts of Iran in the way Iranian officials described as a violation of international wartime law.
“Relocating important museum ownership during times of war or natural disasters is a standard protocol,” a source for the Heritage Protection Unit said, saying the transfer ended at noon on Friday.
Although UNESCO explicitly prohibits attacks on cultural sites and museums in conflict, it categorizes actions such as war crimes, Tehran opponents cited deep distrust in compliance with Israeli international customs as an important reason behind Swift’s actions.
The Iranian museum system includes valuable collections from ancient Persia, including the Achemenid, Sassanid and the Islamic period. Recent steps underscore growing concern that cultural heritage, a target for modern conflict, could potentially secure escalating military tensions between Iran and Israel.
So far, no damage to the museum site has been reported.
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