China will continue supporting South Africa's engagement in Group of 20 (G20) activities, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a press briefing in Beijing on Friday.
Guo made the remarks in response to a media query about an announcement of the United States as the G20 presidency in 2026, in which it claimed that South Africa will not be invited to next year's G20 meetings.
"South Africa successfully hosted the G20 Johannesburg Summit last month, which was highly acclaimed by the international community. The G20 has long adhered to solidarity, cooperation, equality and consultation. As a founding member of the G20, South Africa has attended all the G20 summits and has long played an important role in the group. We support South Africa's continued participation in G20 cooperation and look forward to working with South Africa and other G20 members to contribute to upholding multilateralism, promoting world economic growth, and improving global economic governance," Guo said.
China supports South Africa's participation in G20: spokesman
The U.S.-Israeli airstrikes against Iran since February 28 have inflicted irreparable damage on the country's priceless cultural heritage sites, according to Hassan Fartousi, secretary-general of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO.
Speaking to the press on Tuesday, Fartousi said that 132 cultural heritage items have been attacked in recent strikes, emphasizing that the losses extend far beyond monetary valuation.
"Last night, I was told that 132 pieces [items] of our cultural heritage have been attacked, and it is really impossible to say how much the costs are, and it can be said that these (damaged cultural heritage items) are priceless and irreparable. How can these be defined?" Fartousi said.
Among the most severely affected sites is the Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 2013.
Fartousi said that about 40 percent of the palace's historic mirror works, dating back nearly 220 years to the Qajar period, have been damaged.
"Unfortunately, in Golestan Palace, there are almost 40 percent of the mirror works [that] have been damaged which belong to almost 220 years ago, the Qajar period. The same situation [occurred] in the Saad Abad complex [in] which the Green Palace [was] attacked in a way which the specialists were telling me very sadly that it may not be possible to repair some of the damages," he said.
The Golestan Palace complex, selected as the royal residence and seat of power by the Qajar ruling family in the 19th century, has been described by UNESCO as "a masterpiece of the Qajar era, embodying the successful integration of earlier Persian crafts and architecture with Western influences."
The Saad Abad complex, a sprawling former royal compound in northern Tehran, encompasses an extensive park with multiple buildings now serving as museums dedicated to Iran's cultural history. The official residence of Iran's president is located adjacent to the site.
U.S.-Israeli airstrikes cause irreparable damage to Iran's cultural heritage sites: UNESCO official
