This is an action that would violate international law and is viewed as a war crime — after top Cabinet officials contradicted his twice-made threat.

“If that’s what the law is — I like to obey the law. But think of it, they kill our people, they blow up our people and then we have to be very gentle with their cultural institutions,” Trump said Tuesday in the Oval Office alongside Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Trump originally made the threat to the sites on Saturday, tweeting that the US had “targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago),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” adding that “if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets… Iran itself WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD.”