‘Anachronism’: Rubio’s Civilisational Rhetoric Prompts Pushback From Iran
Tehran said Rubio’s remarks flattened history and were meant to legitimize U.S. coercion and military escalation against Iran.
- On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke at the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, framing the ongoing U.S. war with Iran as a modern continuation of the ancient Greco-Persian Wars.
- Rubio argued Western nations must renew their strength, citing the 480 BC destruction of Athens by Persian King Xerxes as a historical warning regarding threats to modern Western civilization.
- Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei criticized the speech as an "anachronism," accusing the U.S. of using the "philosophy of history" to justify coercion instead of "naked bullying" and military escalation.
- Security chief Mohsen Rezaei and Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf retorted by invoking the 260 AD capture of Roman Emperor Valerian by Persian King Shapur, warning that "anyone who brings history into this must be prepared for its repetition."
- Tehran resident Shima, 26, told Al Jazeera she dislikes Rubio's attempt to use conflicts 2,500 years ago to muster support for the ongoing war with Iran, reflecting broader public skepticism.
13 Articles
13 Articles
From Athens to Anger
TEHRAN – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's October 7 speech at the Pnyx hill in Athens, in which he invoked ancient Greece to call for Western revival and labeled the Islamic Republic of Iran a "cult of death," has triggered a wave of angry reactions across Iran — from senior officials and former diplomats to academics, newspapers, and social media users.
Rubio Highlights Urgency To Embrace Western Virtues
As the Iran conflict threatens to intensify and tech CEOs fret openly about their creations' potential to destroy humanity, now might not seem the time for an extended meditation on America's civilizational roots. But for Secretary of State Marco Rubio, these traditions are most valuable at times of great peril, like today.
It is difficult for a Greek to stand on the Pnyx, with the Parthenon opposite him, and treat what was said there by Marco Rubio as yet another diplomatic compliment.
In his speech at the Acropolis, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio tried to justify US policy not only in the Middle East but also in relation to Iran. We saw a kind of repetitive Orientalism in this speech.
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