US strikes in Iran may be war crimes, Tehran crackdown crimes against humanity: UN probe

A UN fact-finding mission found reasonable grounds to believe US forces committed war crimes in strikes on a school in Minab and a sports centre in Lamerd. It also accused Iranian authorities of crimes against humanity during a crackdown on nationwide protests, citing unlawful killings, torture, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances.

In Short

• UN Probe finds grounds to believe US behind strike on Minab school, sports centre
• Investigators find no evidence Minab school was being used for military purposes
• Probe also finds Iran carried out murder, torture and persecution of protesters

A UN investigation into Iran’s recent turmoil has accused US forces of carrying out two strikes that amounted to war crimes, while finding that Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity during a sweeping crackdown on anti-government protests.

The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran said on Thursday it had reasonable grounds to believe that US forces were responsible for strikes on a primary school in Minab and a sports facility in Lamerd in February. The findings are part of a report that will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The mission also examined Tehran’s response to nationwide protests that erupted in late December, documenting what it described as a widespread and systematic attack on civilians involving unlawful killings, torture, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and restrictions on freedom of expression.

US STRIKE AT GIRLS’ SCHOOL IN MINAB

The most serious finding concerns the strike on Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab, where Iranian officials said more than 150 people were killed, including about 120 schoolchildren.

The UN experts said they had reasonable grounds to believe US forces were responsible for the attack, which they concluded was indiscriminate and caused civilian deaths and damage to civilian infrastructure, making it a war crime under international law.

The report said the school was clearly identifiable as a civilian facility and found no evidence that it was being used for military purposes.

Although the school stood near an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval complex, the mission said the US had failed to update information about the building in its targeting databases or establish that it was a legitimate military objective.

The experts said the circumstances went beyond simple negligence, finding that the strike was carried out despite awareness of a substantial risk of hitting a civilian object.

"Rather, the US directed the strikes at the building of the school while being aware of a substantial risk of striking a civilian object and acting recklessly as regards the possibility that this would happen,” the report stated.

The finding comes months after US President Donald Trump said in June that “nobody” had deliberately targeted a girls' school in Iran, citing an investigation into the incident.

The Pentagon has since expanded its investigation but has not released preliminary findings.

US STRIKE ON SPORTS CENTRE IN LAMERD

The UN mission also examined a strike on a sports centre in Lamerd. It said the attack damaged nearby residential buildings and a school and killed or injured 22 civilians. The experts similarly concluded that the strike was indiscriminate and amounted to a war crime.

US Central Command said in March that American forces had not carried out any strikes in Lamerd on the day in question.

IRAN PROTESTS AND DEADLY CRACKDOWN

Away from the battlefield, the UN investigation turned to the streets of Iran, where protests that began in late December were met with a broad government crackdown.

The mission said Iranian authorities carried out a widespread and systematic attack against civilians, involving unlawful killings, torture, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and severe restrictions on freedom of expression.

Rights groups have described the crackdown as the largest since Iran’s 1979 revolution. Tehran, however, has blamed “terrorists and rioters” backed by exiled opponents and foreign adversaries, including the US and Israel.

The UN mission said it could not independently verify the overall death toll, but believed the number of people killed and injured was likely considerably higher than official figures. Iranian authorities have reported 3,038 deaths and 25,000 injuries.

The report said the government's response, including killings, an internet shutdown and the use of the death penalty, marked a significant escalation from previous patterns of suppressing dissent.

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