A United Nations-mandated fact-finding mission investigating incidents in Iran has determined there are reasonable grounds to believe that two U.S. attacks on civilian sites could amount to war crimes. These include a strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab and another on a sports complex in Lamerd.
The mission’s investigation focused on the February attacks, concluding that the Minab strike resulted in over 150 fatalities, approximately 120 of whom were children. The Lamerd attack caused 22 deaths. The report emphasized that the civilian status of both locations should have been clear and questioned whether U.S. forces took sufficient steps to verify their targets before launching the strikes.
In particular, the mission found that U.S. forces relied on intelligence that was either inaccurate or outdated and failed to properly confirm that the school was a legitimate military target prior to the attack. The circumstances surrounding both strikes suggested a lack of feasible precautions to protect civilians, potentially violating international humanitarian law.
These findings are scheduled to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, where member states are expected to engage in discussions about the report. The fact-finding mission has urged both the United States and Iran to cease violations and implement appropriate measures to assist the victims.
Additionally, the report examined alleged abuses by Iranian authorities during a crackdown on nationwide protests, concluding that these actions may constitute crimes against humanity, including unlawful killings, torture, and arbitrary detentions.
Meanwhile, the United States has rejected the mission’s conclusions. The Pentagon stated its own review of the strikes is ongoing and declined to provide further details at this time. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly criticized the UN Human Rights Council and rejected the report’s characterization of U.S. military actions, reiterating Washington’s position that Iran is responsible for war crimes during the conflict.
It is important to note that the UN mission’s findings do not represent a judicial ruling nor initiate criminal proceedings. However, the conclusions could serve as evidence in potential future legal actions.
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