London Diary: UK academics warn of threat to Iranian cultural heritage

Prominent British academics have expressed deep concern over the threat to Iranian cultural heritage from US-Israel’s illegal war and relentless bombing. (Golestan Palace, the only UNESCO-listed building in Tehran, was hit on 28 February; Sharif University was bombed on 4 April).

Historic mosques, ancient desert cities and sites including the Soltani Mosque, and the Ali Qapu and Chehel Sutun palaces are at risk, they warn in an open letter.

‘All this is a loss for the cultural heritage of the world, not just for the people of Iran,’ say the signatories, who include historians and archaeologists specialising in West Asia from the British Museum, the Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge University and the School of Oriental and African Studies.

In addition to the damage directly done to historic sites, the letter states that ‘damage to oil depots and refineries inevitably results in pollution that causes irreversible damage to sites such as Persepolis and Parsargadae and famous rock-reliefs such as Bisitun, Naqsh-e Rostam and Bishapur.’

Ali Ansari, professor of Iranian history at the University of St Andrews and president of the British Institute of Persian Studies, said the nature of the war made it unclear as to how the international community would be able to help repair the damage in the future.

Several Western museums and other institutions are said to be still working with archaeologists in neighbouring Iraq in an attempt to undo the damage caused by previous wars.

****

Systemic anti-Muslim bias in UK media

There’s ‘widespread and systemic anti-Muslim bias’ in British media, with around 70 per cent of coverage portraying Muslims in a negative light, associating them with themes of conflict, threat or controversy.

This is revealed in a comprehensive study by the Centre for Media Monitoring (CfMM), an independent non-profit organisation which works to ensure a fair and accurate media landscape in UK. It found that nearly half of all articles referencing Muslims or Islam in 2025 contained some degree of bias.

‘The analysis also highlights a cluster of right-wing media outlets responsible for producing the most severe and persistent forms of harmful coverage,’ it said.

The study is based on an analysis of over 40,000 articles published across 30 major UK news outlets, reportedly making it the largest of its kind examining media portrayals of Muslims in Britain.

Among other things, it identifies structural patterns of bias in news reporting and examines how these patterns shape public narratives about Muslims and about Islam. It will be interesting to see what a similar study of Indian media might reveal.

****

Sadiq Khan calls out Trump’s lies about London

The ping-pong between London mayor Sadiq Khan and US President Donald Trump and his courtiers over the latter’s campaign to ‘tarnish’ the British capital’s image has escalated into a diplomatic scandal.

Khan — who has been personally targeted by Trump and called a “terrible mayor” who “wants to go to Sharia law” — has told British diplomats abroad to challenge “disinformation and lies” about the city.

Among other things, Trump has dubbed London the “crime capital” of Europe and claimed that the city has been overrun by Islamists, resulting in “no-go” zones for non-Muslims.

After a meeting with British diplomats, ambassadors and high commissioners, Khan said London was safer than major US cities. He cited data showing that last year London logged its lowest number of per capita crime since records began being kept. Incidents of phone-snatching, for which the British capital became notorious in recent years, had also fallen.

“A lot of this misinformation, disinformation and lies comes from the United States of America. It’s really important to counter the propaganda coming from President Trump,” said Khan.

The row comes as the ‘special relationship’ between the US and the UK is being severely tested over the Iran war, with Trump calling Prime Minister Keir Starmer weak — “he’s no Churchill” — for refusing Americans the use of British bases to bomb Iran.

And what about ‘crumbling’ American cities, Mr President?

Meanwhile, British media is busy reminding the Yanks of the decline of their famous cities.

To quote Times columnist Janice Turner: ‘American cities, with their crumbling infrastructure, homeless camps, car domination and bust-up pavements are decades behind Paris, Barcelona or London in solving today’s urban problems. I was beguiled by New York in 1995: now I wish everyone on its rattly, rat-infested subway could see the Elizabeth Line. Apart from its wildernesses, those it hasn’t yet spoilt, America offers nothing to envy.’

****

No AI help please, literary agents warn writers

Planning to pitch a manuscript to a British literary agent? Well, then stay as far away from AI as possible if you don’t want the world to miss out on your next great novel.

Alarmed by the rampant use of artificial intelligence by authors, literary agents have tightened their rules for book submissions, warning that any hint of use of AI, not just in the manuscript but also in the covering letter, synopsis or proposal, would disqualify them.

And, finally, a British commentator noted that events in West Asia “lend weight to the observation that war is God’s way of teaching Americans geography.