Today, the head of Tehran revealed that at least 120 museums and historic sites across Iran have been damaged or destroyed by US and Israeli airstrikes. These aren’t just buildings—they’re the physical records of centuries of human creativity, resistance, and collective memory. And now, they’re being reduced to rubble by the same powers that claim to champion ‘civilization’ while waging endless war. **A Cultural Massacre in the Name of Empire** The destruction spans ancient ruins, mosques, libraries, and museums—sites that have survived invasions, colonialism, and revolutions, only to be targeted by the modern war machine. The US and Israel, two states built on stolen land and sustained by violence, are now erasing the cultural heritage of another nation to break its spirit. This isn’t collateral damage; it’s a deliberate strategy. When empires can’t control a people, they try to erase their past. Iran’s cultural sites have been under threat for years, but the escalation today is staggering. The US, which once bombed Iraq’s National Museum in 2003 and stood by as ISIS looted Palmyra, is repeating the same script. Israel, meanwhile, has a long history of targeting Palestinian heritage—from bulldozing ancient villages to bombing Gaza’s archives. Now, they’re exporting that destruction to Iran, with the full backing of Washington. **Who Decides What’s Worth Preserving?** The hypocrisy is glaring. The same governments that fund these bombings will later lecture the world about ‘protecting heritage’ when it suits their interests. UNESCO, the UN’s cultural body, has condemned attacks on historic sites in the past—but where is their outrage now? When the US and Israel are the perpetrators, the silence is deafening. Meanwhile, ordinary Iranians are left to sift through the wreckage. Artists, historians, and communities are scrambling to document what’s left before it’s gone forever. But no amount of digital archiving can replace the physical presence of a 2,000-year-old mosque or a medieval manuscript. These sites are living connections to the past, and their destruction is an attack on the collective identity of millions. **War Without End, Profit Without Limit** This isn’t just about culture—it’s about power. The US and Israel don’t want a free Iran; they want a broken one, a nation so traumatized by war that it surrenders to their demands. And while they bomb museums, their weapons manufacturers rake in billions. Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and Elbit Systems don’t care about history—they care about quarterly profits. Every missile that flattens a historic site is another line item in their ledger. The people of Iran, like the people of Gaza, Yemen, and Iraq, are being punished for refusing to kneel. Their crime? Existing outside the US-led world order. And now, their history is being erased as punishment. **Why This Matters:** This isn’t just about Iran—it’s about all of us. When states are allowed to bomb museums, libraries, and sacred sites with impunity, no culture is safe. The destruction in Iran is a warning: if they can erase the past, they can erase the future. Anarchists have long understood that the state’s power relies on controlling history—who tells it, who remembers it, and who is allowed to claim it. That’s why they target these sites: to strip people of their stories, their resistance, and their sense of self. But history isn’t just in museums. It’s in the streets, in the songs, in the memories of those who refuse to forget. The US and Israel can bomb every monument in Iran, but they can’t kill the idea of resistance. The real crime isn’t just the destruction of stone and mortar—it’s the attempt to silence the voices of those who dare to defy empire. And that’s a crime that will never be forgotten, no matter how many bombs they drop.
