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US and Iran must protect cultural sites, UNESCO says after Trump threat by Staff Writers Paris (AFP) Jan 6, 2020 Both Iran and the United States must observe a convention obliging states to preserve cultural sites, the UN's cultural agency said on Monday, after President Donald Trump threatened to target Iran's cultural heritage. UNESCO director general Audrey Azoulay highlighted that both Tehran and Washington had signed a 1972 convention prohibiting states from taking "any deliberate measures which might damage directly or indirectly the cultural and natural heritage" of other states. At a meeting with the Iranian ambassador to the Paris-based organisation, Azoulay said that both countries had signed a 1954 convention for the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict, UNESCO said. Azoulay "stressed the universality of cultural and natural heritage as vectors of peace and dialogue between peoples, which the international community has a duty to protect and preserve for future generations". Trump tweeted on Saturday that the United States would target some sites "at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture" if Tehran attacked American personnel or assets in retaliation for the killing of commander Qasem Soleimani. Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in return that such a move would be a "war crime". But Trump showed no sign of backing down from that threat on Sunday, saying: "They're allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people. And we're not allowed to touch their cultural site? It doesn't work that way." Iran boasts 22 cultural sites on UNESCO's world heritage list. They include the majestic Meidan Imam square -- also known as Naghsh-e Jahan -- in the city of Isfahan that was built by shah Abbas I at the start of the 17th century. The most outstanding site is considered by many to be the ancient Achaemenidian capital of Persepolis in southwest Iran, founded by Darius I in 518 BC, and a major attraction for foreign tourists.
Tel Aviv residents 'not afraid' of Iran threat Tel Aviv (AFP) Jan 6, 2020 Under a clear blue sky in Tel Aviv, Nisan Katz vowed Monday he was "not afraid" of a threat by an Iranian official to turn the Israeli city "to dust". The warning followed a war of words between Washington and Tehran, after the US assassinated top Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani on Friday. "If America takes any measure after our military response, we will turn Tel Aviv and Haifa to dust," said Mohsen Rezai, who heads Iran's Expediency Council, a top state body. But in the coastal ... read more
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