IRAN

THE United States has been warned not to attack Iranian culture sites as it would be a breach of international rules.

The US President has threatened to target Iranian state treasures if Tehran retaliates over the assassination of its top military commander in Iraq. The assassination of Major General Qassem Soleimani has sparked worldwide condemnation.

International laws and conventions prevent the destruction of culture heritage. The British Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, has said that he expects cultural sites to be “respected”.

Targeting cultural sites is a war crime under the 1954 Hague Convention. The UN Security Council also passed a resolution in 2017 condemning the destruction of heritage sites.

The US President raised the prospect of targeting sites, when he tweeted that the US had targeted 52 Iranian sites, some “important to Iranian culture”.

The threat has enraged Iran, with the country’s foreign minister saying such a move would be a “war crime”.

Donald Trump’s threat caught many in his administration off-guard. Many of his officials sought to clarify that the US military would not intentionally commit war crimes, but Mr Trump has doubled down on his remarks.

The US President 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.”

Iran is home to two dozen UNESCO world heritage sites, including Persepolis with its ancient ruins that date back to 518BC. Another heritage site is at Bisotun in the west, where hewn into a rock face is a huge bas-relief ordered by Darius the Great, when he rose to the throne of the Persian Empire in 521BC. Then there is Pasargadae, founded by Cyrus the Great in the 6th century BC.

In the province of Fars, the remains of its palaces, gardens and the tomb of Cyrus are “some of the earliest manifestations of Persian art and architecture”, says UNESCO.

Tehran itself is a treasure chest of mosques, fortresses and temples. Its Golestan Palace is famous for its stunning architecture.

A much more recent monument, the Azadi (Freedom) Tower, was commissioned by the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, to mark the 2,500th year of the foundation of the Imperial State of Iran. It was renamed after the 1979 Revolution.

All of these places and many more are steeped in their country’s long and often bloody history – the next chapter of which could see them blown to smithereens.

Appendage:

– Cultural and Heritage sites in Iran