Destroying culturally significant sites would likely constitute a war crime, and for good reason.
President Donald Trump doubled down on threats to Iranian cultural sites on Sunday, warning that he considered them fair targets as tensions escalate following the Trump-ordered assassination of Tehran’s top military general Qassem Soleimani last week.
“They’re allowed to kill our people. They’re allowed to torture and maim our people. They’re allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people. And we’re not allowed to touch their cultural sites,” Trump said aboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington from a two-week vacation at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. “It doesn’t work that way.”
He made similar comments on Twitter on Saturday, when he announced that 52 Iranian sites could be targeted, “some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture.” Continue reading.