President Donald Trump appeared to walk back his threat to target certain sites, including cultural sites, in Iran.
Speaking with reporters on Tuesday in the Oval Office, the president said, “They are allowed to kill our people. They are allowed to maim our people. They are allowed to blow up everything that we have, and there’s nothing that stops them.”
He continued: “And we are, according to various laws, supposed to be very careful with their cultural heritage. And you know what, if that’s what the law is, I like to obey the law.”
See Trump’s comments below:
President Trump on threat to target Iranian cultural sites: "We are, according to various laws, supposed to be very careful with their cultural heritage…If that is what the law is, I like to obey the law." pic.twitter.com/PqymBkNzOi
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 7, 2020
On Jan. 4, Trump threatened to target 52 sites in Iran if they attack any Americans or American assets — some of the targets being cultural sites.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a press conference on Tuesday that “every effort that’s being made will always be conducted inside the international laws of war.” Additionally, Defense Secretary Mark Esper previously said, “We will follow the laws of armed conflict.”
The president also received push back from some Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who said he spoke to Trump and told him, “Cultural sites, religious sites are not lawful targets.”
“Putting cultural sites on the table as a military target, I think, undercuts what we’re trying to do,” Graham told reporters.
Additionally, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Tuesday that targeting the Iranian cultural sites is “not appropriate,” and sided with Pompeo and Esper on their remarks.
Trump’s remarks on Tuesday in the Oval Office came shortly before Iranian forces fired missiles at two Iraqi bases that house U.S. troops late Tuesday — escalating the tensions between the United States and the Middle East. This followed after General Qassem Soleimani was killed in Baghdad on Friday after a U.S. airstrike.
Trump tweeted in response to Tuesday’s attack that the United States has “the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world, by far!” He also noted that he would be making a statement early Wednesday.