UN Mission Finds Grounds to Believe US Committed War Crimes in Iran Strikes

A United Nations-mandated human rights fact-finding mission has concluded there are reasonable grounds to believe the United States committed war crimes in two deadly strikes carried out in southern Iran on February 28, at the outset of the US-Israeli war against Iran.

The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, set up by the UN Human Rights Council in 2022 and chaired by Bangladeshi jurist Sara Hossain, identified the two incidents as an attack on a school in Minab and a strike on a sports complex and residential area in Lamerd.

Minab school attack

In Minab, a US missile struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh school, a clearly identifiable school building, killing civilians including women and children. Iranian state media has reported 168 deaths, most of them children.

The mission said it found reasonable grounds to believe the strike amounted to the war crime of launching an indiscriminate attack that caused civilian deaths and injuries and damage to civilian objects. It concluded the school building itself was the intended point of impact, rather than the result of an errant missile or collateral damage from an attack on a nearby compound belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

The Trump administration has neither directly accepted responsibility for the strike nor released the findings of a Pentagon investigation into the bombing.

Lamerd strike

The second strike took place in Lamerd, also in southern Iran, on the same day. According to the experts, Precision Strike Missiles were used, dispersing tungsten pellets over a clearly identifiable sports complex and residential area. The mission said 22 civilian men and women were killed.

The United States has denied responsibility for the Lamerd attack, with US Central Command rejecting the allegation.

Findings and evidence

The mission said the two strikes resulted in the deaths of at least 178 civilians, including women and children, and that it had reasonable grounds to believe the attacks constituted the war crime of launching indiscriminate attacks resulting in loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects.

The conclusions are not legally binding, but the experts said the report adds to evidence that could potentially be used in future efforts to pursue accountability through international justice mechanisms. The findings were based on interviews with 73 people inside and outside Iran, along with documents, satellite imagery, photographs, videos and information from credible organisations and experts.

Allegations against Iran

The report also accused Iranian security forces of serious human rights violations and crimes against humanity against civilians. The experts described violent repression over the past two years, including firing assault rifles into crowds, beating protesters and arresting healthcare workers, as well as allegations of torture and denial of access to legal counsel for detainees.

The mission said Iran's government had intensified its use of the death penalty, with more than 70 people, including five women and three boys, at imminent risk of execution. It said some violations amounted to crimes against humanity, including murder, imprisonment, torture and other inhumane acts carried out as part of a widespread and systematic attack on civilians.