UN Experts Allege US War Crimes in Iran; PA Slams Visa Denial

United Nations-backed human rights experts said on Thursday there are "reasonable grounds" to believe the United States committed war crimes in two strikes in Iran on the first day of the war.

The experts, commissioned by the UN's top human rights body, focused their findings on a pair of US strikes that killed at least 178 civilians, including women and children. At least one US missile struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab, according to an investigation. The Trump administration has not directly accepted blame or released the findings of a Pentagon investigation into the school bombing.

The UN-backed team alleged war crimes over the strike on the "clearly identifiable" school and another airstrike in which missiles dispersed tungsten pellets over a "clearly identifiable sports complex and residential area" in the southern city of Lamerd.

Separately, the Palestinian Authority condemned the US decision to deny visas to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and other PA officials ahead of the UN General Assembly. It called Israel's actions "the real threat to the two-state solution and prospects for peace."

The Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, also pushed back against US accusations that it has glorified extremism and strayed from the path toward peace with Israel. Its foreign ministry said it remained committed to long-stalled negotiations but defended its efforts to gain Palestinian recognition through international bodies and courts. The US opposes that strategy, saying it "internationalizes" the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and seeks to circumvent negotiations.

In another development, Israel and Morocco said they will open embassies and expand relations established under the US-brokered Abraham Accords, which saw four Arab countries normalize ties with Israel in 2020. The two countries announced the move in a joint statement with the United States, saying that integrating Israel into the broader Arab world "will lead to peace, stability and shared prosperity." The Abraham Accords were a marquee foreign policy achievement of President Donald Trump's first term. Both Israel and Morocco face elections in the coming weeks.

Pakistan and Turkey, which recently signed a defense pact with Saudi Arabia, have condemned recent attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen against the kingdom. Turkey's defense ministry described the pact as defensive in nature, focusing on collective deterrence, military cooperation and strengthening the countries' defense capabilities. It said the signatories were working toward "institutionalizing" the alliance, and a Pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson said arrangements were underway to establish a secretariat.