(CNN) – US President Donald Trump reiterated his threat of attacking cultural sites this Sunday night in a conversation with reporters aboard the Air Force One.
“They are allowed to kill our people, they are allowed to torture and mutilate our people, they are allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people, and we are not allowed to touch their cultural sites? It’s not like that? It doesn’t work that way, ”Trump said, according to a report from journalists.
Trump’s comments came after two senior US officials described widespread opposition within the administration to attack cultural sites, which could constitute a war crime.
Here is a look at some of Iran’s heritage sites, as designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization:
The Golestan Palace in Tehran (the Rose Garden Palace), built in the 16th century, is a masterpiece of the art of the Qajar period
Atta Kenare / AFP through Getty Images
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The adobe citadel of the ancient city of Bam, a silk road, is one of Iran’s cultural wonders. The historic 2,000-year-old citadel was almost completely destroyed in a 2003 earthquake that killed 26,000 people.
Atta Kenare / AFP through Getty Images
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The tomb of Cyrus II of Persia, known as Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Persian Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BC. C. in the city of Pasargadae, northeast of the southern city of Shiraz.
Behrouz Mehri / AFP through Getty Images
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The director of culture of the UN says that the United States signed agreements that prohibit attacks on cultural sites
The director of the UN cultural agency discussed the tension in the Middle East with the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran, according to a press release about the meeting.
Audrey Azoulay, Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), cited international agreements that prohibit attacks on cultural sites.
The director cited two legal instruments, both signed by U.S and Iran:
One that stipulates that states will not take deliberate measures that would damage cultural and natural heritage.
Another that condemns acts of destruction of cultural heritage.
Azoulay “emphasized the universality of cultural and natural heritage as vectors of peace and dialogue between peoples, that the international community has a duty to protect and preserve for future generations,” said the statement
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