UN mission says US committed war crimes in Iran — Jerusalem Post
The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran said it has reasonable grounds to believe that the United States was involved in two strikes on civilian sites in Iran in February. In a report it plans to submit to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, the mission concluded that these attacks constituted war crimes. This was reported by The Jerusalem Post.
Strike on a school in Minab
According to the UN experts’ findings, US forces may have been responsible for an attack on the Shajareh Taibeh primary school in the city of Minab. According to Iranian authorities, more than 150 people were killed in the strike, including about 120 schoolchildren.
The mission concluded that the attack was indiscriminate, caused civilian deaths and damage to civilian infrastructure, and constituted a war crime under international law. The report states that the US relied on intelligence indicating the alleged presence of a senior Iranian military commander at the site, but did not properly verify it before the strike.
The experts found no evidence that the school was used for military purposes. In their view, the US side directed the strike at the building while aware of a substantial risk of hitting a civilian object and acting recklessly with regard to that possibility.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
In June, US President Donald Trump said that no one had deliberately targeted a girls’ school in Iran, referring to an investigation into the incident. Reuters previously reported that a preliminary internal investigation by the US military indicated the likely responsibility of US forces for the deadly strike in Minab. The Pentagon elevated the level of that investigation but did not disclose its preliminary findings.
Strike in Lamard and protests
The UN mission reached a similar conclusion regarding a strike on a sports center in the city of Lamard. According to the report, the attack damaged residential buildings and a nearby school, and also resulted in the deaths and injuries of 22 civilians. The experts described this strike as indiscriminate and constituting a war crime. US Central Command said in March that US forces had not carried out strikes on Lamard that day.
Separately, the mission said that Iranian authorities carried out a widespread and systematic attack on civilians during anti-government protests that began at the end of December. The report refers to unlawful killings, torture, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and severe restrictions on freedom of expression. The experts classified these actions as crimes against humanity.
The mission was unable to independently verify the number of victims of the protests, but believes it was likely significantly higher than Iran’s official figures: 3,038 killed and 25,000 injured. Tehran rejected accusations of systematic human rights violations and placed responsibility for the unrest on “terrorists and rioters” allegedly supported by foreign opponents, the United States, and Israel.
