Permanent record

Trump threatened Iranian cultural sites, then withdrew the threat

Event date: January 4, 2020
Category: Elections, January 6, and institutional conduct
Posture:: Public statement and legal controversy

Trump threatened strikes on Iranian sites, including culturally significant locations. He later said the United States would follow the law; no strike on a cultural site is asserted in this record.

Evidence basis

independent-corroboration

Dated sources

January 4, 2020 — Reuters (Independent reporting)
January 6, 2020 — www.hrw.org (Institutional or advocacy analysis)
January 7, 2020 — Archived State Department press remarks (Official executive-branch remarks)
January 7, 2020 — www.npr.org (Independent reporting)
January 7, 2020 — PBS NewsHour (Associated Press reporting)

Correction status

No substantive correction recorded for this version.

Canonical citation

Trump threatened Iranian cultural sites, then withdrew the threat. Donaldtrumpler.com. https://donaldtrumpler.com/records/2020-01-04-iran-cultural-sites-threat/

Last verified: September 7, 2026