UN human rights investigators have concluded there are “reasonable grounds” to believe the United States committed war crimes during two attacks in Iran that killed more than 150 civilians, including roughly 120 children. These conclusions appear in a report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran.
The mission focused on two of the most lethal civilian attacks following the outbreak of war between Iran and the US-Israel coalition on February 28. It determined that a missile strike on a primary school in Minab, along with a separate attack on a sports complex and residential neighbourhood in Lamerd, constituted indiscriminate strikes resulting in civilian deaths and destruction of civilian infrastructure.
These findings emerge against a backdrop of broader UN concern over international law violations in conflicts involving major powers. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has cautioned that deepening geopolitical rifts and gridlock at the Security Council have fostered a climate of impunity, allowing powerful nations to disregard international law and the UN Charter.
School attack claimed 120 young lives
On February 28, Tomahawk missiles hit Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab, in southern Iran, killing at least 156 people — about 120 of them children — according to local authorities. Investigators determined the school was easily identifiable as a civilian site and found nothing suggesting it had any military function.
Although the school sat adjacent to an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval facility that was also struck that day, the fact-finding mission concluded the school itself was the deliberate target rather than a victim of a stray missile or incidental damage. Survivors reported to investigators that the building was hit twice.
The experts pointed to media reports of a preliminary US military inquiry that had reportedly assigned responsibility to US forces, combined with the fact that the US was the only combatant known to possess Tomahawk missiles, as grounds for believing Washington carried out the strike. The US military has not made its investigation’s findings public. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has maintained that American forces would never deliberately target civilians.
Separately, in Lamerd, Precision Strike Missiles released clouds of tungsten fragments over a sports complex and adjacent residential zone, killing at least 21 civilians, including seven children, local officials reported. Investigators again found the location clearly identifiable as civilian, with no evidence of military use.
The experts noted US possession of PrSM missile systems as part of the evidence connecting the strike to American forces. The US military, however, has denied conducting any strikes in Lamerd that day and has disputed claims that a PrSM was the weapon used.
Iran’s protest crackdown also flagged as crimes against humanity
The report additionally documented extensive violations tied to Iran’s suppression of mass protests during December 2025 and January 2026. Investigators described killings by security forces as occurring on a scale without precedent, spanning all 31 provinces.
At least 221 children — some as young as two — were reportedly killed. Security forces also targeted healthcare facilities, beating and detaining injured protesters while arresting medical staff, actions the experts said deterred victims from seeking urgent treatment.
Tens of thousands were arbitrarily detained and subjected to torture, solitary confinement, and denial of legal representation, according to the report. At least 29 men were executed after abbreviated trials connected to the protests, while more than 70 others — including five women and three boys — remained at imminent risk of execution.
The mission concluded that many of these violations rise to the level of crimes against humanity, including murder, imprisonment, torture, and other inhumane acts carried out as part of a widespread, systematic campaign against civilians.
Investigators called on both Iran and the US to immediately halt these violations, provide compensation to victims, and take steps to prevent recurrence. They also urged independent investigations into alleged abuses by all parties involved, along with accountability measures for those responsible.
