On July 4, 2025, during a meeting with the President of Iran in the occupied city of Shushi in Artsakh, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev spoke about the Islamic cultural heritage of Shushi, making clearly false and misleading claims.

Our partners from the Public Council for the Protection of Artsakh's Cultural Heritage responded to Ilham Aliyev's falsified theses (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6btph6MO-Tg). They provided detailed information about the preservation work carried out on Shushi's Islamic heritage – its mosques, prayer houses, and madrasas.

They presented the restoration of the Upper Mosque of Shushi, from landscaping and improvements to the surrounding area to complete repairs and excavations. According to Armine Hayrapetyan, former director of the "State Service for the Protection of Historical Environment" SNCO of Artsakh, the same scale of work was carried out on the preservation and restoration of Artsakh's Islamic cultural heritage as on the conservation of churches and monasteries. She emphasized that the first comprehensive study of Artsakh's Islamic cultural heritage was conducted during the Republic of Artsakh's existence. The monuments had protection zones and all the necessary documentation.

Former Minister of Culture, Youth Affairs, and Tourism of Artsakh, Sergey Shahverdyan, presented further details on the process and funding for the preservation and restoration of Shushi's Islamic cultural heritage, as well as its importance for Artsakh's tourism.

Critical is the presentation of satellite images from different years, which clearly show that Shushi's Islamic heritage was not destroyed, contrary to the claims made by Azerbaijan's president. Also highlighted were key facts demonstrating how, during the 44-day war of 2020, the Azerbaijani armed forces launched missile strikes on Shushi's Upper Mosque.