Iranian protesters burn US flags in rally
He said the US had identified
Iranian targets, including “high-value” cultural sites.
Tehran responded by comparing Mr Trump to Genghis Khan and Adolf Hitler and warned that attacks against cultural sites would represent a war crime.
The United Nations’ cultural agency agreed with this latter point, calling on both governments to remember that cultural sites are not targets.
UNESCO’s director-general, Audrey Azoulay, reminded the US and Iran that they have ratified treaties protecting cultural sites during war.
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Iran’s Supreme Leader weeps at the funeral of Qassem Soleimani
Targeting cultural sites is a war crime under the 1954 Hague Convention for the protection of cultural sites.
Iran is home to two dozen UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the ancient ruins of Persepolis, the grand mosque of Isfahan, and the Golestan Palace in Tehran, where the last shah to rule Iran was crowned in 1967. ********
Downing has sought to distance itself from Mr Trump’s threat that Iranian cultural sites could be targeted.
“There are international conventions in place that prevent the destruction of cultural heritage,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman told a Westminster briefing.
Coffins of Gen. Soleimani and others killed in a US drone strike are carried on a truck surrounded by mourners during a funeral procession in Tehran (AP)
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab reiterated the message, telling reporters: “ We have been very clear that cultural sites are protected under international law and we would expect that to be respected. ”
Iran‘s supreme leader Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei**************************** weptover the caskets of General Soleimani, and others slain in the US air strike, at a ceremony in Tehran earlier today.
His cries joined the wails of mourners who flooded the streets of the capital demanding retaliation against America for slaying their top military commander.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned: “Geopolitical tensions are at their highest level this century”.
Addressing press at the UN Security Council, he urged leaders to stop escalating tensions, exercise maximum restraint and re-start dialogue.
Without naming any speicific countries, Mr Guterres said: “This cauldron of tensions is leading more and more countries to take unpredicted decisions with unpredictable consequences and a profound risk of miscalculation.”
He added: “Let us not forget the terrible human suffering by war. As always, ordinary people pay the highest price. It is our common duty to avoid it.”
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