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Secretary of State Marco Rubio's remarks invoking ancient Persia and the Greco-Persian wars in a speech on Western power have triggered a wave of criticism from Iranian officials and commentary from analysts. Iran's ambassador to the Vatican, Mohammad Hossein Mokhtari, said the remarks were rooted in 'ignorance and prejudice,' and a Foreign Ministry official warned that using ancient history to frame a narrative of 'civilizational confrontation' was politically motivated. Analysts noted the irony that Tehran, which has historically downplayed Iran's pre-Islamic imperial past, is now seizing on Rubio's comments to position itself as a defender of Iranian identity against what it casts as Western provocation.