Threatens to strike 52 Iranian targets including cultural sites, which would be a war crime

In tweets on January 4, 2020, Trump warned that if Iran retaliated for the Soleimani strike, the United States had 'targeted 52 Iranian sites,' some 'important to the Iranian culture,' that 'WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD.' Deliberately targeting cultural property is prohibited by the 1954 Hague Convention and can constitute a war crime under the Rome Statute and the U.S. War Crimes Act, legal experts told PolitiFact. When reporters raised the issue, Trump doubled down, saying Iranians are 'allowed to kill our people' but 'we're not allowed to touch their cultural site? It doesn't work that way.' Defense Secretary Mark Esper publicly declined to endorse the threat, stating U.S. forces would 'follow the laws of armed conflict,' and Trump later walked it back on January 7, saying he would 'obey the law.'

"Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have.........targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those" Quote verified against source