Rubio’s Ancient Civilisation Narrative Sparks Iranian Condemnation

Athens, Greece – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a speech in Athens on October 7, 2026, invoking ancient Western civilisation as a foundation for American power. Speaking against the backdrop of the Acropolis, Rubio portrayed the United States—founded in the 18th century—as the heir to a continuous tradition stretching from Greece through Rome to the modern West.

In his address, Rubio argued that contemporary Western nations have lost confidence, weakened industry and defence, and must reclaim ambition and strength. He referenced the Greco‑Persian Wars, highlighting King Xerxes I’s sack of Athens in 480 BC as an example of how Western civilisation survived external assault. “The Persians plundered the temples, burned the shrines and razed the Acropolis to the ground,” Rubio said, later celebrating the Athenians’ resurgence and the construction of the Parthenon under Pericles.

Rubio also targeted Iran’s current leadership, describing them as “fanatics” running a “death cult” that uses martyrdom to advance political goals. “The threats we face today are every bit as real as they were on the dramatic stage of antiquity,” he declared, adding that the Trump administration’s approach is the “unapologetic pursuit of national power.”

The United States and Iran have been engaged in hostilities since joint US‑Israeli strikes on February 28, 2026. While direct fighting has subsided, Washington maintains a naval blockade of Iranian ports, and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted.

Iranian officials responded with historical counter‑points. Mohsen Rezaei, Iran’s security chief, and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of parliament and chief negotiator, both invoked the capture of the Roman emperor Valerian by Persian forces in 260 AD. “Anyone who brings history into this must be prepared for its repetition,” Rezaei said.

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Rubio of flattening complex historical narratives—Greek, Roman, Christian and modern—to serve an “America First” agenda. In a statement, spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei called the rhetoric “an anachronism” and criticised the US for justifying coercion under the “beautiful neon lights of ‘philosophy of history’” rather than overt bullying.

The foreign ministry also pointed to past US actions, including Trump’s 2020 threat to strike 52 Iranian sites “very hard” after the assassination of Qassem Soleimani. Since February 2026, the US has faced accusations of damaging Iranian cultural heritage during bombing campaigns. Culture Minister Reza Salehi‑Amiri urged Western politicians to use a “language of respect,” noting Iran’s millennia‑old civilisation.

Historian Touraj Daryaei noted that while Rubio’s account of the 480 BC sack of Athens is factually correct, it omits the Persian motive of retaliation for Athens’ burning of the Persian provincial capital Sardis in 498 BC. “For Iranians who feel they are facing an unprovoked attack by the US and Israel, this historical echo resonates today,” he observed.

Ordinary Tehran resident Shima, 26, expressed dismay at Rubio’s use of ancient conflicts to rally support for the ongoing war. “They want to continue the war, and they will say whatever they think will work in the moment,” she told Al Jazeera.

Rubio’s speech follows earlier remarks during his January 2025 Senate confirmation hearing, in which he described Iranians as “the people of an ancient civilisation and culture with tremendous pride” while distancing the populace from the clerical regime. “I don’t know of any nation on Earth in which there’s a bigger difference between the people and those who govern them,” he said.

The US campaign—marked by a naval blockade, sanctions, and targeted strikes—has disproportionately affected Iranian civilians rather than prompting a shift in government behaviour. President Trump’s warnings of a possible “death of a civilisation” in Iran have heightened pessimism among many Iranians about US intentions.

Most Iranians reacted negatively to Rubio’s latest remarks, though some members of the diaspora and opponents of the Islamic Republic argued that the secretary of state’s criticism targets the regime rather than the broader ancient civilisation.

Iranian state media swiftly denounced the speech. The hard‑line Vatan‑e Emrouz newspaper published a front‑page image of Rubio dressed in ancient Roman military attire, wielding a shield and sword, with the headline “Ancient war.” The publication alleged that Rubio was “creating historical‑ideological backing for the US war against Iran.”

Analyst Vali Nasr, professor of international affairs at Johns Hopkins SAIS, said Rubio’s aim was to define a common enemy to bind the United States and Europe together, replacing Islam with Iran as the civilisational foil. “It also reflects US frustration that Europe has not played a major role in the war and seeks to paper over deep divisions between the US and Europe on Russia and Ukraine,” Nasr observed.

Rubio’s speech coincided with a diesel‑fuel agreement between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, intended to lower record‑high diesel prices caused by the Iran conflict. Nasr suggested the pairing of the fuel deal and Rubio’s rhetoric signals an administrative message that Iran, not Russia, is the primary adversary for the West.

“I think whether this rhetoric would alienate Iranians was no more a concern than President [George W] Bush’s Islamophobia was a concern alienating Muslims,” Nasr told Al Jazeera. “It makes clear that Washington sees no difference between Iranians as a civilisation and the Islamic Republic.”

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