Rizky Amelia
A United Nations fact-finding mission has concluded that the United States military likely committed war crimes in Iran following a pair of deadly air strikes that killed at least 178 civilians, many of them women and children. The independent investigative panel simultaneously issued sharp condemnations against Iranian authorities, accusing Tehran of perpetrating crimes against humanity and severe human rights violations during its violent suppression of nationwide demonstrations that began late last year.
The detailed findings, compiled by the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, are slated for formal presentation before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The document offers a critical assessment of both the international armed conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran, as well as the internal security measures deployed by the Iranian government to crush domestic unrest.
Investigators focused heavily on the opening day of the military campaign on February 28, when American and Israeli forces initiated strikes across Iranian territory. Among the most catastrophic events evaluated was the US missile bombardment of the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in the city of Minab. The strike resulted in the deaths of more than 150 people, including roughly 120 children, making it the single deadliest civilian casualty incident documented in the conflict.
According to the UN report, American forces utilized Tomahawk cruise missiles to strike the Minab educational facility. The mission determined that military planners failed to uphold their legal obligations under international humanitarian law, which require forces to take all feasible precautions to verify that targeted locations constitute legitimate military objectives rather than civilian infrastructure.
The mission highlighted extensive photographic and video evidence demonstrating that the school displayed prominent, unambiguous markings indicative of an active primary educational center. The facility featured child-oriented murals painted on its exterior perimeter, visible school signs, and designated outdoor playground areas. Publicly available satellite imagery recorded prior to the bombardment also revealed human figures identifiable as children assembling in the central courtyard.
The aftermath of the Minab strike caused profound devastation throughout the local community. State-affiliated media documented harrowing scenes of families searching the rubble, uncovering blood-soaked textbooks, discarded backpacks, and the remains of young students. The UN report observed that numerous households suffered the loss of multiple children in the blast, compounding the collective trauma inflicted on the region.
In response to international outrage over the Minab attack, US President Donald Trump stated in June that American forces had not intentionally targeted a girls' school, pointing to an internal investigation. However, the Pentagon has not publicly released the complete findings of that inquiry. Additional reports and military accounts suggested that outdated intelligence contributed to the strike, as the civilian primary school was located in close proximity to an Iranian naval installation.
The UN panel also investigated a concurrent February 28 air strike on the city of Lamerd, where precision-guided missiles hit a residential neighborhood and a sports complex. The munitions dispersed wide clouds of lethal tungsten pellets, killing 22 civilian men and women who were present in the area.
UN investigators found that the sports center in Lamerd was visibly and physically distinct from an adjacent compound operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Despite the physical separation between the civilian athletic facility and the military site, the area was heavily struck, raising serious concerns regarding target verification and proportionality.
For its part, the United States military has disputed its involvement in that specific operation. In an official statement issued in March, US Central Command asserted that American forces did not carry out any strikes within the municipal borders of Lamerd on the day in question.
Alongside its assessment of US military operations, the UN fact-finding mission documented extensive state-sponsored violence inside Iran. Investigators accused Iranian security forces of executing a brutal, multifaceted crackdown against demonstrators during protests that began in late December 2025 and continued into early 2026.
The report cataloged widespread human rights abuses by Iranian authorities, encompassing nationwide internet blackouts, arbitrary arrests, unlawful killings, systematic torture, enforced disappearances, and harsh suppression of basic freedoms of speech and assembly. The panel noted that these systematic actions crossed the threshold into crimes against humanity.
While official figures published by the Iranian government acknowledged 3,038 deaths and roughly 25,000 injuries connected to the unrest, the UN mission assessed that the actual casualty toll inflicted by state security forces is significantly higher. The panel noted, however, that ongoing restrictions prevented an exact independent verification of total casualties.
Tehran has continually defended its internal security response, maintaining that the bulk of casualties resulted from violent rioters orchestrated by foreign adversaries, including the United States, Israel, and exiled opposition organizations.
Concluding its report, the UN fact-finding panel issued an urgent appeal to both Washington and Tehran to halt military hostilities immediately. The investigators urged all parties to provide full reparations to civilian victims and their families and to pursue enduring conflict resolution through diplomatic channels.
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