UN mission finds US guilty of war crimes in Iran, and Tehran of crimes against humanity
The UN mission stated there are grounds to believe that the US was behind the strikes on a school in Iran and that this constitutes a war crime. In particular, 168 people were killed as a result of the strike on the school in Minab. It was also noted that Iran committed crimes against humanity in suppressing the protests.
UN mission accused the US of war crimes in Iran, and Tehran of crimes against humanity
The UN Fact-Finding Mission on Iran stated on September 17 that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the US was behind two military strikes on a school and a sports complex in Iran in February, and that these actions constitute war crimes.
The mission also concluded that the Iranian government committed crimes against humanity during its bloody crackdown on anti-government protests. In January 2026, Iranian officials stated that more than 3,000 people had died during the protests.
The protests in Iran began on December 28, 2025, with a strike by shopkeepers in Tehran.
They protested against the further sharp depreciation of the Iranian rial against the US dollar, which accelerated inflation. Soon, the demonstrations spread to all provinces of the country.
The new report by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, analyzes the actions of the US during the war in Iran that began in February, as well as the response of Iranian officials to the nationwide protests that started in late December.
The Pentagon declined to comment on this report prepared by an external organization. "Our investigation is still ongoing, and we have no updates to announce at this time," the official statement said.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly, in response to the report, said the UN Human Rights Council "has achieved nothing for human rights," adding that only Iran has committed war crimes in the current conflict.
Earlier, US officials asserted that military operations were being conducted in accordance with the law of armed conflict, while Iran has consistently denied allegations of systematic human rights violations.
UN fact-finding missions are investigative but non-judicial bodies that do not have the authority to initiate criminal cases. However, their findings can be used as evidence in criminal investigations conducted by national courts or international tribunals such as the International Criminal Court. States will consider the results of this report on Monday at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
UN experts stated they found reasonable grounds to believe that US forces were responsible for the March 3 attack on the "Shajarai Toyyiba" primary school in the city of Minab. According to Iranian officials, this strike resulted in the deaths of 168 people, including about 120 school children.
Initial investigation results also mentioned that the US military used outdated intelligence in targeting, as the school had previously been part of a military base.
According to the mission's conclusion, the attack is assessed as an indiscriminate strike that led to civilian deaths and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, which constitutes a war crime under international law.
The report notes that the failure of the US to update its targeting database regarding the school, which was adjacent to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) naval complex, and to clarify whether the building was a military target, is more severe than simple negligence:
"On the contrary, the US knew there was a high risk of striking a civilian object and, showing reckless disregard for the likelihood of such an outcome, directly struck the school building."
In June, US President Donald Trump, citing an investigation into the incident, said that "no one" had intentionally attacked the girls' school in Iran in February.
UN experts emphasized that the school was clearly a civilian object and found no evidence of its use for military purposes.
The experts reached a similar conclusion regarding the strike on the sports complex in the city of Lomard. The report states that this attack damaged nearby residential buildings and a school, causing the death and injury of 22 civilians. The mission also assessed this attack as indiscriminate and concluded it was a war crime.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) stated in a March statement that US forces had conducted no strikes in Lomard on that day.