Donald Trump again threatens to target Iranian cultural sites amid mounting tensions over Qasem Soleimani killing

Courtney Subramanian | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Are we really ready for a World War III? Fears are mounting around the world following the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani - but is World War 3 about to happen?

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Sunday repeated a threat to target Iranian cultural sites, which critics say could amount to a war crime, if Tehran retaliates for a U.S. drone strike that killed its top military general.

"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,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way back to Washington, D.C, from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. “And we’re not allowed to touch their cultural site? It doesn’t work that way."

Trump's comments appeared to contradict Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who earlier on Sunday vowed the administration would "behave lawfully" in regards to a list of targets the U.S. would strike if Iran launched a retaliatory attack for the death of Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the leader of Iran's elite Quds Force.

Iran has repeatedly vowed to retaliate for the attack, sparking fears it could trigger further military action or launch a war. On Saturday in a pair of tweets, the president warned the U.S. has identified 52 Iranian targets, including some cultural sites, that "WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD" if Iran were to take action.

Critics — including top Iranian officials — were quick to point out the threat amounted to a war crime.

"He doesn't know international law. He doesn't recognize U.N. resolutions either. Basically he is a veritable gangster and a gambler," Iranian Maj. Gen. Hossein Dehghan, a senior military adviser to Iran's supreme leader, told CNN.

Iran was home to some of the earliest civilizations in human history, and there are two dozen UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 22 of them cultural ones, within its borders.

The 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict makes it a war crime to target cultural sites. The international treaty, created in the aftermath of World War II, says, "Damage to cultural property belonging to any people whatsoever means damage to the cultural heritage of all mankind."

And, according to the International Red Cross, because such sites are "normally civilian in nature, the general provisions of humanitarian law protecting civilian property apply."

In response to the intentional demolition of several historic monuments and relics by the Islamic State, the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed a resolution in 2017 condemning the destruction of heritage sites.

Earlier Sunday, Trump warned he would "quickly and fully strike back" if Iran took action for Soleimani's death, suggesting that a U.S. response might be "disproportionate."

The president also appeared suggest his tweets serve as formal notification to Congress of any strikes on Iran, which is required within 48 hours of military-style action under the War Powers Act of 1973.

"These Media Posts will serve as notification to the United States Congress," he said, appearing to refer to his tweets, "that should Iran strike any U.S. person or target, the United States will quickly & fully strike back, & perhaps in a disproportionate manner. Such legal notice is not required, but is given nevertheless!"

These Media Posts will serve as notification to the United States Congress that should Iran strike any U.S. person or target, the United States will quickly & fully strike back, & perhaps in a disproportionate manner. Such legal notice is not required, but is given nevertheless! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2020

The Trump administration on Saturday submitted a formal document to Congress defending the drone strike, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced in a letter Sunday night the House will "introduce and vote on a War Powers Resolution to limit" the president's military actions on Iran.

The administration argues Soleimani's organization had been declared terrorists and carried out a number of attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq. Trump and other officials have also argued that Soleimani was planning future attacks on U.S. interests in the region.

Critics of the president pointed out formal notice of military action is required to be sent to Congress and his suggestion of a disproportionate threat could violate international laws.

"Any time the president involves the armed forces into 'hostilities,' he must--at a minimum--notify Congress within 48 hours," tweeted Oona Hathaway, director of Yale Law School's Center for Global Legal Challenges.

More: How Trump arrived at the decision to kill Iran's top general

Trump: We took action to stop, not start a war President Donald Trump declared Friday that a “reign of terror is over" as he marked the death of an Iranian general killed in a U.S. strike. Trump said the U.S. took the action to "stop a war," not to start one. (Jan. 3)

"He is promising a 'perhaps ... disproportionate' strike in response," she added. "that's another promise of an international law violation. Any action taken in self defense (the apparent justification for the strikes) must be necessary and proportionate to the threat posed."

The brewing tensions between Washington and Tehran were on full display Sunday after Iran said it was taking another step toward abandoning the nuclear accord between Tehran and several world powers that Trump pulled out of in May 2018.

Timeline: How tensions escalated with Iran since Trump exited nuke deal

Hundreds of thousands of people flooded Iranian streets to mourn the death of Soleimani, one of the country's former top military commanders and the mastermind of its vast network of pro-Iranian militias scattered across the Middle East. Soleimani, who was designated a terrorist by the State Department last April, was killed in a drone strike on Friday on a road near Baghdad airport.

Also on Sunday Iraq's parliament voted to end the presence of U.S. troops there. The bill is non-binding and requires the approval of the Iraqi government, but outgoing Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi described the general's killing as a "political assassination" and urged the U.S. military to leave.

Contributing: Kim Hjelmgaard, David Jackson and William Cummings, USA TODAY.