UN Experts Find US Strikes on Iran School May Be War Crimes

The United States may have committed war crimes in two February strikes on Iran, including a missile attack on a school that killed scores of children, according to a UN-mandated investigation.

The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran said it had found “reasonable grounds” to believe US forces launched indiscriminate attacks on 28 February. Its findings are not a court conviction, but they add international evidence to demands for an independent investigation and possible accountability. ¹

• The mission said a US strike hit the “clearly identifiable” Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab, southern Iran.
• Iranian officials and state media said 168 people were killed at the school, most of them children; AP found memorial records listing 120 pupils and 26 teachers and staff among the dead. ²
• The mission also attributed a separate strike in Lamerd to US forces, saying 22 civilians were killed when tungsten pellets hit a sports complex and nearby homes. US Central Command has denied responsibility for that attack. ¹
• The experts said the school was the intended point of impact, rejecting the explanation that it was merely damaged by an errant missile or by an attack on the adjacent Revolutionary Guard compound. ¹
• Washington has not accepted responsibility for the school strike or released the findings of a Pentagon investigation. The White House and State Department rejected the UN findings. ¹

The dispute now centres on more than who fired the missiles. The mission’s conclusion raises questions about whether US forces used obsolete intelligence, failed to verify that the target remained military, or ignored the foreseeable presence of children during school hours. Earlier investigations by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch found evidence that the school had been separated from the nearby military compound for years and that a US Tomahawk missile probably struck the building. ^{3 4}

A finding by UN-appointed experts cannot itself prosecute American commanders or compel Washington to release its investigation. But it creates a documented record for future legal proceedings and puts pressure on the Pentagon to explain how a school became a strike point — and why the families of the dead are still waiting for an official account.

Footnotes

1. Associated Press, “UN experts say US strikes in Iran may constitute war crimes” ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. Associated Press, “Families grieve at an Iranian school where a US strike killed dozens of children” ↩

3. Amnesty International, “Those responsible for deadly and unlawful US strike on school must be held accountable” ↩

4. Human Rights Watch, “Iran: US School Attack Findings Show Need for Reform, Accountability” ↩