College Professor Sorry for Joke Suggesting Iran List U.S. Cultural Targets

An adjunct professor at Babson College in Massachusetts has apologized for his “bad attempt at humor” after he said Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei “should tweet a list of 52 sites of beloved American cultural heritage that he would bomb.” The prof suggested those targets might include Minnesota’s Mall of America and a home of the Kardashian family, among other locations.The since-deleted Facebook post by Babson’s director of sustainability Asheen Phansey has been widely circulated on social media and was first reported by Turtleboysports.com on Tuesday.Lawmakers Fume About Trump Admin’s Lack of Iran Explanation After ‘Insulting’ BriefingThe Wellesley school said in a statement Thursday that it had suspended Phansey with pay “pending the completion of our investigation” and that the college “condemns any type of threatening words and/or actions condoning violence and/or hate.” “This particular post from a staff member on his personal Facebook page clearly does not represent the values and culture of Babson College,” the statement read. “We are cooperating with local, state and federal authorities.”Phansey told local news outlets he regretted making his ill-received “attempt at humor,” which was an apparent response to a tweet from President Donald Trump on Saturday warning that, if Iran retaliated for the drone strike killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, it could face attacks from the United States on 52 Iranian sites, including those of cultural significance, a number the president said was symbolic of the 52 American hostages “taken by Iran many years ago.”Leaders inside the United States and across the world, including Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, condemned Trump’s tweets and accused him of threatening a “war crime,” as well as breaching established norms of international law. Days later, Trump grudgingly backed down from that threat after the Pentagon said the U.S. military planned to follow international law.Phansey told The Boston Herald his post was an attempt to “juxtapose our ‘cultural sites’ with ancient Iranian churches and mosques” and that he is “an American, born and raised.”WHDH-TV reported that Phansey was working with a public relations firm to handle the negative press after the post began circulating. “I am completely opposed to violence and would never advocate it by anyone,” he told the Herald. “I am sorry that my sloppy humor was read as a threat. I condemn all acts of violence.”“I am particularly sorry to cause any harm or alarm for my colleagues at Babson, my beloved alma mater and the place where I have enjoyed teaching students and serving as its sustainability director,” Phansey added.Phansey’s “professional experience spans the software, aerospace, and biotech sectors,” according to Babson’s website, which also said he holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University and an MBA from Babson, where he frequently lectures.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.