The Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA) is saddened to hear about threats to take aim at Iranian cultural sites as a retaliatory tactic in the ongoing military confrontation in the region.

These threats rightly caused anguish and revulsion among Americans, and around the world. Members of the Zoroastrian community in the United States and all over the world are are the last living links to the remains of the ancient Persian civilizations which flourished in the region of which modern day Iran is a part of.

The glorious remains of the Achaemenids at Persepolis, majestically standing through millennia, are not just Iran’s heritage but that of the world. The founder of that dynasty, Cyrus the Great, finds honorable mention both in the Bible and in some of America’s founding documents. In the Bible he is hailed as the rescuer of captive Jews. America’s founding fathers Jefferson and Adams sought inspiration in his life story, seeing him as one of the earliest exemplars of how a just and humane ruler ought to conduct himself.

It is distressing in the extreme to even contemplate the destruction of this architectural and cultural evidence of a glorious chapter in human history. Modern day Iran is an ancient land of varied peoples. Scattered across it are artifacts left behind or edifices currently used by waves of civilizations and practitioners of some of the great ancient religions of the world–Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Damage to any of these cultural sites be a travesty and irreparable loss to all of mankind.

There have been many recent incidents of wanton destruction of many of humanity’s heritage sites in the region and the United States should stand up as a protector of these cultural sites for all of mankind.

We urge the President of the United States and the Administration to show restraint and strive for the protection of the cultural sites that belong to all of humanity.