\u201cIt appears that the US has concluded it is better to justify its policy of coercion and force to the world under the beautiful neon lights of \u2018philosophy of history\u2019, instead of naked bullying that uses the language of cowboys,\u201d Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said in a statement. He added that Rubio was resorting to \u201canachronism\u201d, rehashing long buried historical events for modern-day legitimacy.<\/p>\n
After the 2020 assassination of Qassem Soleimani, a commander in Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Trump threatened to hit 52 Iranian sites<\/a> \u201cvery hard\u201d, including places \u201cimportant to Iran & the Iranian culture\u201d.<\/p>\n Since February, the US has been criticised for damaging Iranian historical and cultural sites<\/a> during its bombing of Iran.<\/p>\n Culture Minister Reza Salehi-Amiri urged Western politicians to speak about Iran with a \u201clanguage of respect\u201d since \u201cit is not an enemy created in a political speech but a living civilisation, a great nation and a lasting reality in world history\u201d that dates back millennia.<\/p>\n Iranian historian Touraj Daryaei told local media on Friday that while Rubio\u2019s account of the sack of Athens was true, he omitted an important fact cited by Greek historian Herodotus and others \u2013 a major motivation for the Persian attack was retaliation.<\/p>\n In 498 BC, Athens\u2019 forces burned Sardis, a provincial Persian capital in western Anatolia. For Iranians who feel they were subject to an unprovoked attack by the US and Israel, this event could have modern-day relevance.<\/p>\n Shima, a 26-year-old resident of Tehran, told Al Jazeera that she did not appreciate Rubio\u2019s attempt to use conflicts 2,500 years ago to muster support for the ongoing war with Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cThey want to continue the war, and they will say whatever they think will work in the moment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n During his January 2025 Senate confirmation hearing, Rubio had referred to Iranians as \u201cthe people of an ancient civilisation and culture with tremendous pride and advances who take great pride in their Persian heritage and identity\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know of any nation on Earth in which there\u2019s a bigger difference between the people and those who govern them,\u201d he said at the time. \u201cIn no way are the clerics who run the country representative of the people and its history and contributions it\u2019s made to humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"epa13287271](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/epa_6aca259b813b-1791632795.jpg\")
Rubio speaks during a ceremony marking the renovation and opening of a new wing of the US embassy in Athens, Greece, on October 7, 2026 [Alexandros Vlachos\/EPA]<\/p>\n