A United Nations fact-finding mission said Thursday it had reasonable grounds to believe the United States committed war crimes in two strikes on civilian sites in Iran, while separately finding that Tehran committed crimes against humanity during its crackdown on anti-government protests.
The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran examined US military operations during the war that began in February as well as the Iranian authorities’ response to nationwide unrest that started in late December.
Its report, which will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, concluded that US forces were responsible for strikes on a primary school in Minab and a sports centre in Lamerd that amounted to indiscriminate attacks under international law.
The mission also said Iranian authorities carried out a widespread and systematic attack against civilians during the protest crackdown, involving killings, torture, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and persecution.
Minab school strike
UN investigators said they had reasonable grounds to believe US forces carried out the February strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab.
More than 150 people were killed, including around 120 schoolchildren, according to Iranian officials.
The mission concluded that the school was a clearly identifiable civilian site and said it found no evidence that it was being used for military purposes.
Investigators said US targeting procedures failed to account for updated information about the school, which stood close to an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval complex.
The report concluded that US forces acted recklessly despite a substantial risk that the target was civilian, making the attack a war crime.
US President Donald Trump said in June that nobody had deliberately targeted a girls’ school in Iran, citing an investigation into the incident.
Reuters previously reported that an initial US military investigation found American forces were likely responsible for the Minab strike. The Pentagon later expanded its investigation but has not released preliminary findings.
The UN mission reached a similar conclusion about a strike on a sports centre in Lamerd.
That attack killed and wounded 22 civilians and damaged nearby homes and a school, according to the report. Investigators said the strike was indiscriminate and therefore constituted a war crime.
US Central Command said in March that American forces had not carried out strikes in Lamerd on the day in question.
Iran crackdown
The mission also found that Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity during their response to protests that erupted in late December.
Investigators documented unlawful killings, torture, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and severe restrictions on freedom of expression.
The mission said the crackdown amounted to a widespread and systematic attack on civilians.
Iranian authorities put the death toll at 3,038 people, with around 25,000 injured, but UN investigators said the true number of dead and wounded was likely considerably higher.
Tehran has blamed what it describes as terrorists and rioters backed by foreign powers and exiled opposition groups for the unrest and has repeatedly rejected allegations that its security forces systematically violated human rights.
The report said Iran’s response — including lethal force, internet shutdowns and use of the death penalty — represented a significant escalation compared with previous crackdowns on dissent.
Neither the US nor Iranian missions in Geneva immediately responded to requests for comment.
UN fact-finding missions are investigative rather than judicial bodies and cannot themselves bring criminal charges. Their evidence and conclusions can, however, be used in investigations by national courts or international tribunals.
Members of the UN Human Rights Council are due to discuss the findings when the report is formally presented in Geneva on Monday.
