Isfahan

While military strategists scramble to learn the damage done by U.S. bombs and missiles in Iran, many scholars and Iranian Americans are wondering what this means for the people and architectural treasures of Isfahan.

The Isfahan area, which includes one of the three Iranian nuclear sites that the U.S. targeted Saturday, is also home to one of the country’s most historic cities, full of landmarks from Persia’s years as a regional power in the 17th century.

Isfahan “is thought of as a sort of treasure, like a vestige of a different Iran,” said Jasmin Darznik, who spent part of her childhood in Iran before becoming a novelist and chair of the MFA writing program at California College of the Arts in San Francisco. “I think people have a very special feeling about the place.”

The city’s architecture includes intricately tiled mosques, several stately bridges and a sprawling square that has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. American and Israeli military leaders focus on the nuclear complex 14 miles east of Isfahan and the 2.2 million people in the city, but the list of cultural assets there is also long.

A UNESCO report recently noted that the region’s 17th-century leaders “established colourful tiling as the most salient characteristic of Iranian architecture, and this decorative style reached its zenith in Isfahan.”

Among the landmarks:

Naqsh-e Jahan Square is the second-largest public square in the world, surpassed only by Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

(Kaveh Kazemi / Getty Images)

Naqsh-e Jahan Square, also known as Shah Square and Imam Square, was laid out between 1598 and 1629, its broad central area surrounded by mosques, palaces and the Isfahan Bazaar. The open space is about 1,800 feet long and about 520 feet wide, which appears to make it the second-largest public square in the world, surpassed only by Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

The Masjed-e Jāmé, also known as the Jāmé Mosque or Great Mosque of Isfahan, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012. It goes back to the year 841, its grounds showing how Islamic architecture has evolved over 12 centuries. It is the oldest Friday (congregational) mosque in Iran.

The Si-o-Se Pol Bridge, also known as the Bridge of 33 Arches, was begun in 1599 and completed in 1602. Illuminated by night, it harbors tea houses on its lower deck and has served as a gathering spot for generations. At 977 feet long, it is the largest of 11 historic bridges spanning the Zayandeh River.

Khaju Bridge is often billed as the most beautiful bridge in Isfahan.

(Rasoul Shojaei / IRNA / AFP via Getty Images)

Khaju Bridge is younger and shorter than the Si-o-Se Pol Bridge but is often billed as the most beautiful bridge in Isfahan. It was built around 1650 and made of stone and bricks with tile work above its arches. It is about 449 feet long.

As the U.S. stepped into the war between Israel and Iran, U.S. military authorities told the New York Times they targeted Iranian sites in Fordo and Natanz with “bunker-buster” bombs and Isfahan with missiles from a submarine. As of noon Sunday, CNN reported 18 destroyed or damaged structures at the Isfahan nuclear complex outside the city, which was built in 1984 and is thought to employ 3,000 scientists, making it Iran’s largest nuclear research complex.

This satellite image shows the Isfahan nuclear facility in Iran after U.S. strikes.

(Maxar Technologies / Associated Press)

There were no reports of damage or casualties in central Isfahan.

Much of the city goes back to the Safavid dynasty, which lasted unbroken from 1501 to 1722. During the dynasty’s peak years, the Safavids held power over what is now Iran, Azerbaijan, Bahrain and Armenia, along with parts of Georgia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Türkiye and other countries.

The leader during many of those peak years was King Abbas I, also known as Abbas the Great, who assumed power at age 16, ruled from 1587 to 1629, chose Isfahan as his empire’s capital and effectively rerouted the Silk Road to include the city. While Shakespeare was writing plays in England and Caravaggio was painting in Italy, Isfahan’s landmarks were taking shape and, thanks to the Silk Road trade, Persian rugs began showing up in the homes of wealthy Europeans.

Toward the end of his tenure, nervous about succession, Abbas I had one of his sons killed and two blinded. Still, the family dynasty continued for another century. Once the dynasty fell, Isfahan lost its status as Persia’s capital but retained its reputation for beauty.

President Donald Trump has announced that United States forces struck three Iranian nuclear sites in a “very successful attack”, adding that the heavily fortified Fordow nuclear facility is “gone”.

Trump’s decision on Saturday to join Israel’s military campaign against Iran represents a major escalation of the conflict.

“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan,” Trump posted on Truth Social, adding that the military planes were now on their way home.

“NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!” he added.

Later, in a televised Oval Office address that lasted just more than three minutes, Trump said that Iran’s future held “either peace or tragedy”, and that there were many other targets that could be hit by the US military.

“Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated,” Trump said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded to the attacks, accusing Washington of breaching international law.

“The United States, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has committed a grave violation of the UN Charter, international law and the NPT by attacking Iran’s peaceful nuclear installations,” Araghchi said in a social media post.

“The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences. Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behavior.”

He added that Iran “reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people”.

The strikes came as Israel and Iran have been engaged in more than a week of aerial combat, with deaths and injuries in both countries.

Israel launched the attacks on Iran, saying that it wanted to remove any chance of Tehran developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only.

‘Will not stop’

Iran’s nuclear agency on Sunday said that radiation system data and field surveys do not show signs of contamination or danger to residents near the sites.

“Following the illegal US attack on the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites, field surveys and radiation systems data showed: No contamination recorded,” the organisation said in a social media post.

“There is no danger to residents around these sites. Safety is in a stable state.”

Shortly after the attacks, the agency insisted that its work would not be stopped.

“The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran assures the great Iranian nation that despite the evil conspiracies of its enemies, with the efforts of thousands of its revolutionary and motivated scientists and experts, it will not allow the development of this national industry, which is the result of the blood of nuclear martyrs, to be stopped,” it said in a statement.

CBS News reported that the US reached out to Iran diplomatically on Saturday to say the strikes were all it planned and that the US did not intend on regime change efforts.

Trump told Fox News that six bunker-buster bombs were dropped on the Fordow nuclear site, while 30 Tomahawk missiles were fired against the others, Esfahan and Fordow.

US B-2 bombers were involved in the strikes, a US official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

‘Awesome and righteous US might’

Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett said that Trump was advised that the bombings would allow for the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear programme.

“Donald Trump has been advised that, as commander-in-chief, this will not lead to escalation,” Halkett reported from Washington, DC. “But he knows there is a chance that there could be an escalation as a result of his action.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump’s decision to attack Iran.

“Congratulations, President Trump. Your bold decision to target Iran’s nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history,” Netanyahu said.

Israeli military officials said earlier on Saturday that they had completed another series of strikes on dozens of military targets in southwestern Iran.

Israel launched attacks on June 13, saying that Iran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Israel is widely assumed to have nuclear weapons, which it neither confirms nor denies.

Iranian officials have repeatedly said that Iran does not plan to develop nuclear weapons but will pursue its right to nuclear energy and research.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “gravely alarmed” by the “dangerous escalation” of the US strikes.

“There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control – with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world,” he said in a statement.

At least 430 people have been killed and 3,500 injured in Iran since Israel began its attacks, Iranian state-run Nour News said, citing the Ministry of Health.

In Israel, 24 civilians have been killed by Iranian missile attacks, according to local authorities, in the worst direct conflict between the longtime enemies. More than 450 Iranian missiles have been fired towards Israel, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.

Israeli officials said that 1,272 people have been injured since the beginning of the hostilities, with 14 in serious condition.

It was the second attack on Isfahan as the conflict enters a second week, killing at least 430 people in Iran and 24 in Israel.

A key nuclear site in Iran’s Isfahan province has come under Israeli attack, with local officials saying there were no radiation leaks.

Early on Saturday, smoke could be seen rising from an area near a mountain in the city of Isfahan after Israeli air strikes hit the nuclear site overnight, triggering the air defence system.

It was the second attack on Isfahan as the conflict between the Middle Eastern nations entered a second week, killing at least 430 people and wounding nearly 3,500 others in Iran, according to Iran’s health ministry.

No casualties were reported in the Isfahan attack, authorities said.

Israeli forces also hit a military installation in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz in Fars province, according to Iranian media.

On the Israeli side, explosions were heard above Tel Aviv, where buildings were seen on fire.

In central Israel, the emergency services released images showing fire on the roof of a multi-storeyed residential building. Local media reports said the blaze was caused by falling debris from an Iranian missile that was intercepted.

At least 24 people have been killed by Iranian missile attacks in Israel, according to local authorities, in the worst conflict between the longtime enemies.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that Israel has killed Saeed Izadi, who led the Palestine Corps of the Quds Force, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) overseas arm, in a strike on an apartment in the Iranian city of Qom.

Calling his killing a “major achievement for Israeli intelligence and the Air Force”, Katz said in a statement that Izadi had allegedly financed and armed the Palestinian group Hamas ahead of its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

IRGC said five of its members died in Israeli attacks, according to Iranian media. They did not mention Izadi, who was on United States and British sanctions lists.

Hostilities broke out on June 13 when Israel launched air strikes on several sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.

Israel claims it attacked Iran to prevent it from developing a nuclear bomb, although Iranian negotiators were engaged in talks with the US to curb its enrichment programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

The International Atomic Energy Agency and US intelligence have both said there were no signs that Iran was building a nuclear weapon, despite Tehran having enriched uranium beyond the threshold needed for civilian purposes.

However, Trump on Friday said US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard was “wrong” in saying that Iran was not developing a nuclear bomb.

Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani told Al Jazeera that Tehran remains open to dialogue at the United Nations and other such forums.

“We believe in listening to the other side. That’s why our diplomats are present in Geneva, to hear the other side out,” Mohajerani said, adding that any diplomacy must begin with global recognition of Israel’s attack on Iran.

Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, reporting from Tehran, said Iranians are angry over Israel “not just targeting nuclear facilities and military complexes”.

“The reality on the ground is ordinary people are being attacked on a daily basis,” he said.

“Many in the Iranian capital have chosen to leave, but we have to keep in mind we’re talking about 10 million people living in Tehran city and 14 million in Tehran province. It’s putting pressure on surrounding areas.”