President Trump’s tweeted threat to target sites that are 'important to Iran & the Iranian culture' caught many in his administration off-guard, a U.S. national security official says. Attacking cultural sites is a war crime under an international treaty.
FILE — In this Jan. 19, 2019 file photo the shrine of Iran's revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini is seen, just outside of Tehran, Iran. The ancient and rich cultural landscape of Iran has become a potential U.S. military target as Washington and Tehran stumble toward a possible open conflict.
“Through MILLENNIA of history, barbarians have come and ravaged our cities, razed our monuments and burnt our libraries,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif tweeted in response Sunday. “Where are they now? We’re still here, & standing tall.” Telecommunications minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi compared Trump’s threats to strike cultural sites to the Islamic State group, Adolf Hitler and Genghis Khan, calling the U.S. president a “terrorist in a suit.”
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed “harsh retaliation,” calling Soleimani the “international face of resistance” against Western hegemony.
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