Museum institutions in Tehran in Iran and Tel Aviv in Israel have activated their respective emergency procedures in recent hours to safeguard their collections amid escalating tensions between Iran and Israel. According to local sources, escalating hostilities in the region, which have already involved airstrikes on high-density urban areas, have prompted both countries to secure archaeological artifacts, works of art and archives of historical and cultural value.
In Iran, theCultural Heritage Organization has ordered the closure of museums and national heritage sites, and the relocation of the most sensitive assets to protected storage facilities spread throughout the country. Ali Darabi, Iran’s deputy minister for cultural heritage, tourism and handicrafts, made the announcement on Friday. Coinciding with the first Israeli missile strikes on Tehran, Darabi announced the activation of the crisis protocol, instructing museum officials to transfer “significant” artifacts. The Ministry of Culture then confirmed that all transfer operations had been completed by the next day.
Iran maintains a cultural heritage of global significance: there are 28 sites recognized by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites, and numerous museum and art institutions of international appeal. Tehran is home to, among others, the Iranian National Museum, the country’s largest Persian archaeological and medieval visual art archive, which has two locations: the Museum of Ancient Iran and the Museum of the Islamic Era. The collections include objects spanning some 300,000 years. The capital is also home to the Museum of Contemporary Art, known for featuring works by artists such as Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso, and the Golestan Palace, a historic complex from the Qajar era that has been a UNESCO heritage site since 2013. On Monday, Israeli authorities issued an evacuation order for residents of Tehran’s District 3, one of the capital’s central areas, home to several ministries and inhabited by some 300,000 people. Iran responded by urging its citizens to leave Israeli cities such as Tel Aviv and Haifa. Tensions accelerated further after former U.S. President Donald Trump raised the alarm, urging the entire population of Tehran to leave the city.
Even in Israel, major museum institutions have activated emergency protocols as of Friday morning following retaliatory attacks launched by Tehran. According to a report in the Times of Israel news outlet, the director of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, Suzanne Landau, told Kan public radio that operations to transfer the most valuable pieces have been completed. In addition to this, the director noted that few works have been loaned to the museum in the past 20 months, as many international art institutions have avoided Israel or chosen to keep their distance because of the conflict in Gaza.
“We are used to this,” Suzanne Landau argued. “October 7 was the last time. The Dead Sea Scrolls were the first. At 9:30 a.m., everything was ready. Right now we are isolated from the art world. Art institutions don’t lend money so easily to a country at war.”
The Tel Aviv Museum of Art followed a similar procedure. As reported by a spokesperson, operations had already begun in the early morning hours of Friday to secure all the works displayed in the galleries. The materials were moved to underground facilities, considered more protected in case of bombings. By the end of the day, both the Israel Museum and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art had closed to the public, citing directions issued by national security authorities. Both reported that activities would remain suspended indefinitely. Meanwhile, the Society for Iranian Archaeology, an independent academic group concerned with the protection and study of the national archaeological heritage, released an official statement via its Telegram channel on Monday.
“Statements by the Society for Iranian Archaeology on the threats posed by Israeli military attacks on Iranian civilians and cultural heritage,” the message reads. "The Society for Iranian Archaeology (SIA) expresses deep concern and unequivocal condemnation of the State of Israel’s recent military attacks on Iranian territory. These actions pose serious risks not only to the lives and safety of civilians, particularly families, children and vulnerable populations, but also to the integrity of Iran’s rich and irreplaceable cultural heritage. The SIA urgently reminds all parties to the conflict of their binding obligations under International Humanitarian Law (IHL), including the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its two Protocols, the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, and the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which defines the intentional attack and destruction of cultural property as a war crime under certain conditions. As States Parties to the 1954 Hague Convention, Israel, Iran and the United States are legally obligated to respect and safeguard cultural property, including refraining from directing hostilities against it and using it in ways that expose it to destruction or damage. The principle of distinction, the cornerstone of International Humanitarian Law, requires all parties to distinguish at all times between civilian property and military targets.
The SIA therefore appeals to: UNESCO and other international bodies for the protection of cultural heritage, including Blue Shield International and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the International Council of Museums (ICOM), to closely monitor the situation and activate emergency mechanisms for the protection of cultural heritage in Iran; Academic and cultural institutions around the world to speak out in defense of Iran’s cultural heritage and against any attack on cultural property and civilian lives;
The international community, particularly signatories to the Hague Convention and other relevant legal instruments, to fulfill their commitments under international law and to take urgent and concrete measures to prevent further escalation and irreversible damage. Cultural heritage is not only the patrimony of a single nation, but a heritage shared by all humanity. Its destruction constitutes a profound attack on identity, memory and the foundations of peace. We call for immediate and coordinated international action to safeguard human life, protect cultural heritage and defend the values of international law and shared humanity. The Society for Iranian Archaeology is an independent, nongovernmental academic organization dedicated to the documentation, study and preservation of Iran’s archaeological and cultural heritage."
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| Iran and Israel secure museum treasures ahead of raids |
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