Following the assassination of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani, US President Donald Trump has threatened to respond to any Iranian retaliation by attacking Iranian cultural sites.
There are hundreds of such sites with historical significance in Iran, more than 20 with Unesco World Heritage status. Here is a selection of some of the most important.
One of the largest city squares in the world, Naqsh-e Jahan Square (Pattern of the World Square), is in the city of Isfahan, built in the early 17th Century.Sited in Naqsh-e Jahan Square is the Imam Mosque (renamed so after the 1979 revolution). It is decorated with elaborate tiles and also registered as a Unesco World Heritage site.The Golestan Palace is a complex of royal buildings with elaborate interiors in Tehran, and was the official residence of the Qajar dynasty in the 19th Century.
