Pompeo on Trump threat to strike Iranian cultural targets: ‘We’ll behave lawfully’

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo responded Sunday to President Trump’s threat to attack 52 Iranian sites, including those “important to Iran & the Iranian culture” if Tehran retaliates for Gen. Qassem Soleimani’s death by saying the U.S. will “behave lawfully.”

ABC’s “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos pushed Pompeo on the president’s Saturday tweet, saying the Geneva conventions forbid attacks on places of worship and cultural objects.

“We’ll act lawfully,” Pompeo responded. “We’ll behave inside the system. We always have, and we always will.”

NEW: @GStephanopoulos presses Sec. of State Mike Pompeo on Trump’s tweet warning cultural sites could be targeted if Iran retaliates: “Why is the president threatening Iran with war crimes?”

Pompeo: “We’ll behave lawfully. We’ll behave inside the system.” https://t.co/gJwvmAsvm8 pic.twitter.com/thUzbapH0w

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 5, 2020

“The American people should know that every target that we strike will be a lawful target, and it will be a target designed at the singular mission of protecting and defending America,” Pompeo said. 

{mosads}CNN’s Jake Tapper also pushed Pompeo on the point, asking “So cultural centers are theoretically fair targets in your view?” 

“We’re going to the things that are right and the things that are consistent with American law,” Pompeo responded.

“We will respond with great force and great vigor if the Iranian leadership makes a bad decision,” he added. “We hope that they won’t.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on President Trump’s threat on Iranian cultural centers: “We will respond with great force and great vigor if the Iranian leadership makes a bad decision. We hope that they won’t” #CNNSOTU https://t.co/SoFha51rCl pic.twitter.com/GS1COvnUy0

— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) January 5, 2020

The president posted a threat Saturday directed at Iran, saying the U.S. has targeted 52 Iranian sites and was ready to attack “very fast and very hard” if the country retaliates in response to the killing of Soleimani last week. 

Iran is talking very boldly about targeting certain USA assets as revenge for our ridding the world of their terrorist leader who had just killed an American, & badly wounded many others, not to mention all of the people he had killed over his lifetime, including recently….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2020

Trump approved the strike to kill Soleimani last week, saying he was a “terrorist leader” who caused the deaths of many Americans.

Iran’s foreign minister responded to Trump’s Twitter threats on Sunday by saying that attacking sites of cultural significance would classify as war crimes.