The Iranian organization with a vast network of bookshops across Iran has had at least six of its branches damaged in US-Israeli strikes.

By Olivia Snaije, Contributing Editor

Most days Ali Jafarabadi, CEO of Book City, Iran’s largest chain of bookshops, has little to no access to the internet. But when he does, he gets in touch with colleagues around the world to talk about what is happening in Iran. Recently, he spoke to Publishing Perspectives via WhatsApp about damage to his bookshops and cultural spaces in military attacks by the United States and Israel.

Book City was founded 30 years ago as a non-profit, non-political organization for the public. At the time, the municipality of Tehran outsourced a number of buildings to the organization with the mission of making books accessible and creating cultural and social spaces. Under this model, Book City developed and launched bookshops throughout the country—nearly 100 total—in cities such as Isfahan, Mashad, Tabriz, and Kermanshah. The branch managers are usually publishers or cultural activists, said Jafarabadi, who became Book City’s third CEO in 2025. He added that many bookshops have cafés and run literary and cultural events.

But in recent weeks, six of the network’s bookshops in Tehran were damaged or destroyed following U.S.-Israeli strikes. Jafarabadi wrote to UNESCO in Iran to describe the destruction, which included damage to the buildings, interior spaces, equipment, display systems, and book inventories.  He also added reports from other booksellers whose shops were damaged. In early March one shop was completely destroyed, and two others will require extensive reconstruction, Jafarabadi said, adding that the other branches have now been repaired and are open again.

“People are coming and buying [books], on some days more than usual because of the vibe of our stores and the sense of reading, especially with a cup of coffee,” he reported, suggesting that the need for books and community cultural spaces has taken on new meaning during the war—an experience that resembles the experience of Ukrainian bookseller Oleksii Erinchak. Erinchak opened his first Sens bookshop just before the Russian invasion, and the space has proven to be so needed by the public that he has since opened more bookshops.

Jafarabadi said he crossed paths with Erinchak a year ago at the RISE bookselling conference in Riga, and was moved to hear that although Oleksii was “suffering from war,” he was “happy that he could heal people’s wounds in his bookstore.”

Unlike Erinchak’s experience of launching during war time, Book City’s shops have been bustling and successful for three decades, “but we had never seen people come to bookstores like this during a war to feel better,” Jafarabadi noted.

“We are doing daily activities but sometimes it is really hard when you have no perspective of your next seconds and you might be surprised by a bomb, which was the experience that we had in our stores several times,” he said.

A Social Mission

As a non-profit organization, Book City has an interesting business model. It has a volunteer board of trustees, and Jafarabadi said that all profit shares are put back into cultural and social missions.

Over the past 20 years, the cultural and international department has organized hundreds of meetings on cultural and literary heritage and operates as a center for study, reflection, and discussion, including cross-cultural dialogues with international writers or discussions around classical—millenia-old—and contemporary Iranian and international writers and thinkers. Book City has partnered with UNESCO (established in Iran in 2003) on several occasions, including an event to raise awareness about children’s rights, as part of the organization’s emphasis on engaging young audiences.

Since it was founded, Book City added publishing and music arms to the organization. Hermes Publications is a generalist publisher producing original works as well as translations for adults and children, while Hermes Records produces and promotes modern Persian music.

Jafarabadi wrote that the attacks come “just when the trees are budding and blooming and you should enjoy the song of the nightingales.”

Cultural and civilian spaces are always severely tested during war, and the experience in Iran has been no different over the past month—though organizations like Book City are supposed to be protected under international law.

“We strive to be resilient against the winter of humanity,” Jafarabadi said.