On Saturday, 4 January 2020, Donald J. Trump, the current president of the United States of America, announced on Twitter that the United States has targeted fifty-two Iranian cultural sites and that, if Iran makes any move against any American or against any American asset, the United States will destroy those sites. Trump declared, over the course of two tweets, the following words:
“Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have….”
“….targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!”
Donald Trump is literally holding Iran’s cultural sites hostage, threatening to destroy them if Iran does not comply with his demands. This sounds more like the kind of threat you’d expect to hear from the Joker than from the president of the United States.
Destroying Iranian cultural sites would certainly constitute a war crime under international law. The United Nations made this very clear in 2017 when they adopted a resolution for the protection of heritage in response to the deliberate destruction of cultural sites in Iraq and Syria by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). You know you live in a messed-up world when the president of the United States is literally threatening to do what ISIS did.
Trump doubles down
On the evening of Sunday, 5 January 2020, Donald Trump was confronted by reporters telling him that destroying Iranian cultural sites would constitute a war crime. Trump responded by insisting to reporters that his plans to destroy Iranian cultural sites are justified. He said:
“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? It doesn’t work that way.”
What Donald Trump doesn’t understand is that destroying Iranian cultural sites doesn’t just hurt the Iranian government. It also hurts the Iranian people (many of whom don’t agree with the government). It also hurts everyone around the world who has an appreciation for historic sites and future generations. Trump’s threat to destroy centuries-old cultural sites over present squabbles reveals an almost breathtaking degree of short-sightedness and stupidity.
Donald Trump has not revealed exactly which cultural sites in Iran he is threatening to destroy—probably because he doesn’t want to give the Iranian government any chance to defend them. Nonetheless, I happen to know of a few major historical sites that are “important to Iran & the Iranian culture.” I am sure that at least a few of these must be on Donald Trump’s list of fifty-two sites he is threatening to destroy, so here’s a list with lots of pictures of some of the major historical sites in Iran that Donald Trump might decide to destroy:
Chogha Zanbil
Chogha Zanbil is an extremely ancient Elamite site located in Iran’s Khuzestan Province that includes one of the only known ziggurats in the world from outside Mesopotamia. The ziggurat of Chogha Zanbil is astonishingly well-preserved compared to other ziggurats, which are often so badly worn that they are unrecognizable as man-made structures.
Construction at the site of Chogha Zanbil began sometime around 1250 BC. The site was eventually abandoned sometime around 640 BC. This makes it one of the oldest major historic sites—not just in Iran but in the world. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, making it one of the first three sites in Iran to be declared World Heritage Sites.
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the astonishingly well-preserved ziggurat of Chogha Zanbil
Pasargadae
Pasargadae was the original capital of the Achaemenid Empire. Most of the city as it stands today was constructed during the reign of King Cyrus the Great (ruled 559 – 530 BC). It spans roughly 1.6 square kilometers and contains multiple palace complexes. Pasargadae was officially declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2004.
Perhaps the most famous monument at Pasargadae, though, is the limestone mausoleum of Cyrus the Great himself. Ironically, as I discuss in this article I wrote in December 2019, Donald Trump’s evangelical supporters keep drawing comparisons between Trump and Cyrus the Great, but yet it is quite possible that Trump may now be threatening to destroy Cyrus’s own mausoleum.
If Trump were to destroy the ruins of Pasargadae, it would make him the ultimate anti-Cyrus. He would—quite literally—be the destroyer of everything Cyrus the Great built. Even Alexander the Great (lived 356 – 323 BC), the sworn enemy of the Achaemenid Persians, stopped at Pasargadae to pay his respects at Cyrus’s tomb.
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the ruins of the Private Palace from Pasargadae
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of a stone structure at Pasargadae which may be the Tomb of Cambyses I
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the Tomb of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of an inscription on the Tomb of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of a stele of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae
Behistun
The site of Behistun, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006, is most famous for the Behistun Inscription, a carving on the side of a cliff bearing an autobiography of King Darius I of the Achaemenid Empire (ruled 522 – 486 BC) in three different languages: Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian. Along with the inscription is a colossal relief carving depicting Darius I punishing those who dared threaten his reign.
In the same way that the Rosetta Stone was instrumental in the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics, the Behistun Inscription was utterly instrumental in the decipherment of cuneiform script. The relief carvings at Behistun are magnificent and the inscription is one of the very few historical sources we have written by an actual Persian king. Most of our information about Darius I comes from Greek writers like Herodotos, but the Behistun Inscription offers us an almost unique glimpse into Darius I’s own perspective.
In addition to the famous inscription, there are other ruins at Behistun, including the ruins of the Behistun Palace, a Sassanian palace that was constructed nearby, centuries after Darius I left the Behistun Inscription. There are also Hellenistic sculptures at the site, such as a Hellenistic Greek statue of the hero Herakles carved into the side of the same mountain as the Behistun Inscription.
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the Behistun Inscription, which bears magnificent relief carvings as well as an inscription that is the autobiography of the Achaemenid king Darius I in three different languages
ABOVE: Detail from Wikimedia Commons of the figure of Darius I from the Behistun Inscription
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of a Hellenistic statue of Herakles at Behistun
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the ruins of the Sassanian Behistun Palace
Persepolis
Persepolis was the capital city of the ancient Achaemenid Empire for most of its history. Its construction began during the reign of King Darius I (ruled 522 – 486 BC), but it was not completed until the reign of Darius I’s son Xerxes I (ruled 486 – 465 BC).
Xerxes I is perhaps most famous for having led the Second Persian Invasion of Greece in 480 BC. He was the one who was in charge of the Persian forces in the famous battles of Thermopylai and Salamis. (As I talk about in this article I wrote in November 2019, however, the historical Xerxes I was nothing at all like the terrifying, bald, ten-foot-tall supervillain character he is portrayed as in the movie 300.) Xerxes I is also usually identified with the good king Ahasuerus from the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible.
The ruins of Persepolis were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, making it one of the very first sites in Iran to be listed by UNESCO. The ruins of the city include multiple magnificent palaces. Most notable among these palaces are the Apadana Palace and the Tachara Palace.
ABOVE: Overview of the ruins of the ancient city of Persepolis from Wikimedia Commons
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the Gate of All Nations at Persepolis
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the Gate of All Nations from another angle
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the western compound at Persepolis
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the Great Double Staircase at Persepolis
The Apadana Palace is a hypostyle hall that served as an audience hall for the Persian king. Its construction began during the reign of Darius I and it was completed during the reign of Xerxes I. It bears stunning and irreplaceable relief sculptures.
ABOVE: Photograph of the ruins of the Apadana Palace at Persepolis
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of a relief carving of the Medes and the Persians from the ruins of the Apadana Palace at Persepolis
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of a relief of trees and lotus flowers at the Apadana Palace at Persepolis
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of a relief sculpture from the Apadana at Persepolis
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of a relief carving from the Apadana Palace at Persepolis
ABOVE: Modern reconstruction of what the Apadana Palace might have originally looked like
Another palace, known as the Tachara Palace, also stands at Persepolis. As with the Apadana, the construction of the Tachara began during the reign of Darius I, but Darius I died before the palace was complete. The construction of the Tachara was completed during the reign of his son Xerxes I.
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the ruins of the Tachara Palace at Persepolis
ABOVE: Another photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the Tachara Palace at Persepolis
ABOVE: Detail from Wikimedia Commons of a relief carving from the Tachara Palace at Persepolis
ABOVE: Detail from Wikimedia Commons of a relief carving from the Tachara Palace at Persepolis
ABOVE: Modern reconstruction of what the Tachara Palace might have originally looked like
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of an astoundingly well-preserved stone column with a bull capital at Persepolis
Naqsh-e Rustam
Naqsh-e Rustam is a site located roughly six kilometers northwest of Persepolis that houses many of the royal tombs of the later Achaemenid kings, including the tombs of Darius II and Artaxerxes II. Each tomb is carved into the cliffside, with a massive relief carving in front of it.
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the complex of Naqsh-e Rustam
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the Tomb of Darius II at Naqsh-e Rustam
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the Tomb of Artaxerxes II at Naqsh-e Rustam
ABOVE: Detail from Wikimedia Commons of the figure of Artaxerxes II from the relief in front of his tomb at Naqsh-e Rustam
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the Ka’ba-ye Zartosht at Naqsh-e Rustam
The Palace of Ardashir I
The Palace of Ardashir I is a palace that was constructed in around 224 AD by King Ardashir I (lived 180 – 242 AD), the founder of the Sassanian Empire (lasted 224 – 651 AD) in what is now Fars Province, Iran. Although the palace is now mostly in ruins, it is still one of the most magnificent examples of early Sassanian architecture.
The Palace of Ardashir I bears many features that would later become staples of Persian architecture, including an iwan (i.e. a large entry hall with three walls and one side entirely open), a domed ceiling, ramparts, and towers. Many of these features, such as the domed ceiling with an oculus, are adopted from earlier works of Roman architecture, such as the Pantheon. Nonetheless, the Sassanians managed to develop their own unique architectural style.
Although it is not a UNESCO World Heritage Site currently, the Palace of Ardashir I has been tentatively listed by the Iranian government as a good candidate to become a World Heritage Site since 1997.
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the Palace of Ardashir
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the iwan of the Palace of Ardashir I
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the main courtyard of the Palace of Ardashir I
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the interior of the main chamber of the Palace of Ardashir I
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the central dome of the Palace of Ardashir I, showing the oculus
Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System
The Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System is a complex irrigation system in the city of Shushtar in Khuzestan Province, Iran. Some parts of the irrigation system date all the way back to the Achaemenid Period, but most of the irrigation system was constructed in the late third century AD by Roman workers who had been captured and taken as prisoners of war by the Sassanians after the Battle of Edessa in 260 AD.
One of the most impressive structures included in the Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System is the Band-e Kaisar, or “Dam of Caesar,” which is a dam-bridge in the Roman style that was constructed from sandstone ashlar and concrete. It carried the main road from Pasargadae to the Sassanian capital of Ktesiphon. It is named after the emperor Valerian, who was among the Romans who were captured by the Sassanians in the Battle of Edessa.
The Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System was officially named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009, making it Iran’s tenth UNESCO World Heritage Site. I’m sure it status as a World Heritage Site won’t protect it from Donald Trump, though, since I doubt Trump cares about that sort of thing.
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of a portion of the Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the Band-e Kaisar, or “Dam of Caesar,” at Shushtar
Falak-ol-Aflak
Falak-ol-Aflak is an ancient castle that stands atop a large hill in the center of the city of Khorramabad in Lorestan Province, Iran. It was originally constructed during the reign of King Shapur I (ruled 240 – 270 AD) of the Sassanian Empire (lasted 224 – 651 AD). It has undergone substantial renovations and expansions since then, however. In particular, the castle was substantially rebuilt during the reign of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar (ruled 1772 – 1834) of the Qajar Dynasty (lasted 1789 – 1925).
Under the Pahlavi Dynasty (lasted 1925 – 1979), Falak-ol-Aflak was used the ancient castle as a prison. Then, in 1968, it was finally converted into a museum. The walls of Falak-ol-Aflak have survived over 1,500 years (or at least some of them have), but will it be an American bombing that finally destroys the castle forever?
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of Falak-ol-Aflak, an early medieval Sassanian castle in the city of Khorramabad
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of Falak-ol-Aflak from another angle
ABOVE: Photograph of Falak-ol-Aflak from another angle from Wikimedia Commons
The Jameh Mosque of Isfahan
The Jameh Mosque of Isfahan is one of the oldest mosques in the world. It stands in the historic city of Isfahan in Iran’s Isfahan Province. Construction on the mosque began in around 771 AD during the reign of the Umayyid Caliphate (lasted 661 – 750 AD). Various renovations and additions to the mosque have been made over the course of the centuries, with additions being made by the Seljuk Turks, by the Mongols, by the Muzzafarids, by the Timurids, and by the Safavids
The resulting mosque is an astoundingly beautiful structure with majestic iwans and domes covered in lavish decorations. The Jameh Mosque of Isfahan was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012. It is considered one of the most impressive monuments in Iran, but I don’t think for a moment that that would keep it from being on Donald Trump’s list of sites to destroy.
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the exterior of the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the iwan on the south side of the mosque
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the iwan from the west side of the mosque
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of a portion of the interior of the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the interior of the north dome of the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the interior of the northern shabistan dome of the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan
Arg-e Bam
The Arg-e Bam is an adobe castle located in the Kerman Province of Iran. The earliest settlement on the site of Arg-e Bam is dated to the Achaemenid Period (lasted c. 550–330 BC). There was a fortress of some kind on the site during the Sassanian Period (lasted 224 – 651 AD), but the current structure of the castle mostly dates to the time of the Safavid Empire (lasted 1501 – 1736).
On 26 December 2003, a major earthquake struck Arg-e Bam. The castle was severely damaged by the quake and the citadel of the castle was almost completely destroyed. Since then, the castle has undergone extensive reconstruction and many of the structures that were destroyed have been rebuilt or reconstructed. Nonetheless, the once-proud citadel is still mostly in ruins.
Arg-e Bam may still be in the process of being rebuilt, but I doubt that would stop Donald Trump from ordering American forces to blast it to smithereens if he thought doing so would hurt the Iranian government.
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the citadel of the Arg-e Bam castle taken before the 2003 earthquake that badly damaged the castle and almost completely destroyed the citadel
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the Arg-e Bam taken in 2016, after much of the reconstruction work was completed. Notice that the citadel of the castle is still in ruins.
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the site of Arg-e Bam from a bit further out, showing the surrounding buildings
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the walls of Arg-e Bam, taken in 2018
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of Arg-e Bam, taken in 2018
Rayen Castle
Rayen Castle is a Persian adobe castle located in the Kerman Province of Iran. There was apparently a castle on the site in the late Sassanian Period (lasted 224 – 651 AD) and some of the castle’s foundations may date back to that time. Nonetheless, most of the currently-existing structure of the castle dates to the time of the Safavid Empire (lasted 1501 – 1736).
After the nearby castle of Arg-e Bam, Rayen Castle is the second-largest adobe structure in the world. Unlike Arg-e Bam, however, Rayen Castle was not damaged by the earthquake in 2003 and the castle is extraordinarily well-preserved. Indeed, it is the best preserved of all the castles in the region.
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of Rayen Castle
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of a portion of Rayen Castle
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of a portion of Rayen Castle
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of a portion of the interior of Rayen Castle
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of a portion of Rayen Castle
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of one of the towers of Rayen Castle
The Dome of Soltaniyeh
The Dome of Soltaniyeh is a mausoleum of the Mongol ruler Öljaitü that was constructed between 1302 and 1312 AD. It stands in the city of Soltaniyeh in Iran’s Zanjan Province. The dome stands roughly forty-nine meter high and it may be the oldest known double-shell dome in Iran.
The Dome of Soltaniyeh is often cited as a precursor to the more famous Taj Mahal mausoleum in Agra, India, since the architectural styles are very similar and it is likely that the architecutre of the Dome influenced the architecture of the Taj Mahal. The entire city of Soltaniyeh, including the Dome, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the Dome of Soltaniyeh
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons showing the Dome of Soltaniyeh from a different angle
ABOVE: Detail of the dome from Wikimedia Commons
Had enough?
By this point, I imagine my readers are probably tired of seeing all these beautiful monuments that Donald Trump may be threatening to destroy. I have only listed twelve sites here; whereas Donald Trump is threatening to destroy no less than fifty-two Iranian cultural sites—one for each of the fifty-two American hostages taken by Iran in the Iranian hostage crisis, which lasted from 4 November 1979 until 20 January 1981. That means Trump could destroy all twelve of the monuments I have listed here along with forty others without going beyond what he has already threatened.
If Donald Trump destroys these monuments, they will be gone forever. Perhaps some of them could be rebuilt, but they wouldn’t be the same. I think everyone would agree that it is more fulfilling to see the original Parthenon in Athens than the replica of the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee. Likewise, seeing the original ruins of Persepolis will always be more fulfilling than seeing a reconstruction of ruins that were destroyed.
Furthermore, the original monuments are valuable in part because of what they can tell us about the ancient cultures that created them. A replica of a destroyed monument can’t provide us with the same kinds of information that the original monument can provide because the replica will never be exactly the same. Also, there may be other buildings and artifacts at these sites that we have not yet discovered and, if Donald Trump bombs them, they will be destroyed before anyone has a chance to even know they exist.
The other people Trump will hurt
Donald Trump does not seem to have a clear awareness of all the people he will hurt aside from just the Iranian government if he destroys Iranian cultural sites. All of the sites I have listed above—as well as all the other sites Trump could be threatening—are major tourist attractions that draw thousands, if not millions, of Iranian and foreign tourists each year. Meanwhile, many of these sites are located in large cities. If Trump were to actually attack these sites, he would certainly kill large numbers of civilians, including large numbers of non-Iranians.
The greatest irony of all of this is that Donald Trump wants to intimidate the Iranian government, but, by destroying cultural sites, he would actually harm the Iranian people far more than the Iranian government. The Iranian government may benefit from these sites, but Iranian civilians benefit from them more.
Ironically, some of these monuments that Trump may be threatening have even become affiliated in various ways with resistance against the Iranian government. For instance, starting in the early 2000s, thousands of Iranians began gathering at the Tomb of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae each year on the seventh of Aban (which roughly corresponds to October 29th on the Roman calendar) in celebration of the unofficial holiday “Cyrus the Great Day.” Some Iranians took advantage of this occasion to protest the government.
In effort to put an end to these protests, in 2017, the Iranian government severely restricted access to the site of Pasargadae for a period lasting from 27 October to 30 October. If Trump were to destroy Pasargadae, he would be destroying a site that some Iranians have historically used to protest the Iranian government. The people he would be harming the most would be ordinary Iranians.
Furthermore, Trump doesn’t seem to realize that destroying Iranian cultural sites would harm far more people than just Iranians. Thousands of tourists and pilgrims from outside Iran still visit Iranian cultural sites each year. In destroying these sites, Trump would be harming anyone on the planet who has an interest in seeing these monuments.
Finally, Trump would also be harming all future generations of people from all nations by depriving them of the opportunity to study these sites firsthand. Imagine 3,000 years from now some eminent future scholars will say, “Oh, what a shame it is we can’t study the original ruins of ancient Persia firsthand because they were all destroyed thousands of years ago by that blithering idiot Donald Trump! What a shame it is that we have only photographs!”
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons showing thousands of Iranians gathered at the Tomb of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae on 28 October 2016 in celebration of “Cyrus the Great Day,” an event which some Iranians took advantage of to protest against the government, leading to government crackdowns
Would Trump actually destroy Iranian cultural sites? Is he bluffing?
I would very much like to think that Donald Trump is merely bluffing and that he won’t really destroy cultural sites. Certainly, this is the kind of threat that no normal president would ever make good on. On the other hand, Donald Trump is not a normal president. He is wild and unpredictable (some would even say “unhinged”). He says and does things that no normal politician would consider doing. Consequently, I think it is pretty close to impossible to tell whether or not he’s bluffing. Heck, I don’t think even the president himself is entirely sure whether or not he’s bluffing!
Some have pointed out that Trump’s wording in his initial tweet makes it sound as though the list of sites that he is targeting was already prepared for him by his military advisors. They have argued on the basis of this fact that Trump is probably bluffing about targeting cultural sites, since his military advisors would know that destroying cultural sites is a war crime and they would never create a list of cultural sites to destroy. They therefore argue that the sites on the list are probably military sites—not civilian cultural sites—and that Trump just lied about them being cultural sites.
As much as I would like to believe that this argument is correct, I am not entirely sure that it is. We have to remember that these are Donald Trump’s military advisors, men whom he picked himself. I could believe that Trump may have ordered his advisors to come up with a list of Iranian cultural sites to destroy should the Iranian government take actions against the United States and that his advisors obediently created a list.
Even if Donald Trump really is just bluffing, this is not at all the sort of thing he should be bluffing about. Just by threatening to destroy cultural sites, Trump is normalizing a war crime. Destroying cultural sites is literally something that fanatical terrorist groups like ISIS do; it’s not supposed to be something the president of the United States does.
I sincerely hope that the Iranian government does not do anything to antagonize Trump and I further hope that, even if the Iranian government does make a move against the United States, Trump will not make good on his threats to destroy Iranian cultural sites, since that would be a terrible tragedy, especially if you take into account the likely civilian death toll and the incalculable loss the future generations.
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the Temple of Bel at Palmyra taken in April 2010 before the temple was blown up by ISIS
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the broken rubble left over from the Temple of Bel at Palmyra, which was blown up by ISIS in August 2015
This turn of events is indeed horrifying and frustrating. Putting precious relics in the hands of a narcissistic megalomaniac makes our anxiety grow for a good reason! Let us hope that we as a country will kick this awful man to the curb as soon as possible.
Thankfully, Donald Trump has already backed down from his original idea of destroying cultural sites. During a press conference at the White House with Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday, 7 January 2020, Trump said:
We’re lucky that Trump is a coward who will back down from anything if he receives enough criticism for it. Nonetheless, it was wrong of him to even suggest the idea of destroying cultural sites to begin with.
Because the Iranians would *never* destroy pre-Islamic cultural sites.
I never said anything about the Iranians not destroying cultural sites. This article was written specifically in response to something that Donald Trump threatened to do. The Iranian government is a tyrannical theocratic regime that has committed more than its share of abuses, but that doesn’t excuse Trump from his own indiscretions. Other people doing terrible things isn’t an excuse for Trump to do terrible things.
This is a highly controversial topic on all fronts, but regimes like Iran’s Theocracies are no strangers to using historic cultural sites as refuges or hiding places for military officials and chains of command in bunkers underneath during a crisis. Neighbor Pakistan has abused all kinds of UN Conventions to shelter rogues – for example Pakistan sponsored militants in Afghanistan have routinely used field hospitals as shelters.