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United Nations human rights investigators have concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe the United States committed war crimes during military strikes in Iran earlier this year. According to a newly published assessment by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, two separate American missile bombardments in late February resulted in the deaths of at least 177 non-combatants and constituted indiscriminate attacks on civilian populations and infrastructure.
The comprehensive findings, submitted to the UN Human Rights Council, examined the devastating consequences of aerial operations carried out on February 28, the date the United States and Israel commenced their military campaign against Iran. The panel of three independent experts focused specifically on two of the deadliest single incidents affecting civilians during the hostilities: a strike on a primary school in the southern town of Minab and another on a public sports complex in Lamerd.
In delivering their conclusions, the panel warned that Iranian citizens are currently trapped between severe human rights violations and crimes against humanity perpetrated by their own government, alongside the lethal fallout of the international conflict involving the United States and Israel. The investigators noted that non-combatants continue to bear the overwhelming brunt of both foreign military operations and state-sanctioned domestic violence.
The most catastrophic of the incidents reviewed occurred at the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab. Local authorities reported that Tomahawk cruise missiles hit the educational facility, killing at least 156 people, including 120 children. The UN mission noted that while the school was situated adjacent to an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval facility that was also targeted that day, the educational compound was clearly identifiable and completely devoid of military activity.
Crucially, the investigators rejected claims that the destruction was merely an unintended accident or collateral consequence of the neighboring operation. Based on survivor testimony indicating the school was struck twice, alongside physical evidence, the report concluded that the school itself served as the intended point of impact. The panel stressed that the US is the only belligerent in the conflict armed with Tomahawk missiles, pointing also to media reports of a preliminary US military inquiry that acknowledged American responsibility.
The Pentagon has not released the full findings of its internal review regarding the Minab attack, though US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has previously maintained that American armed forces never intentionally target non-military sites. Washington has yet to offer an official reaction to the fact-finding mission's latest publication.
The second operation highlighted by the UN took place on the same day in the southern town of Lamerd, where a sports complex and adjacent residential neighborhood were bombarded with Precision Strike Missiles. The munitions released widespread clouds of tungsten pellets across the area, killing at least 21 civilians, among them seven children.
Similar to the Minab strike, the fact-finding mission affirmed that the Lamerd sports facility was clearly identifiable as a non-military site with no indications of military usage. Because the United States is the exclusive operator of Precision Strike Missiles in the ongoing theater of war, the UN experts determined there were reasonable grounds to hold American forces responsible for deploying the weaponry.
Washington has consistently contested allegations regarding the Lamerd incident, having previously denied conducting any strikes in the town on February 28 and disputing external technical assessments identifying the munitions as Precision Strike Missiles. Nonetheless, the UN panel concluded that both the Minab and Lamerd attacks met the legal standard of indiscriminate operations causing disproportionate loss of civilian life and damage to civilian objects, thereby establishing grounds for war crimes allegations.
Alongside its examination of foreign military actions, the UN fact-finding mission documented extensive atrocities carried out by the Iranian state itself. The panel found that Iranian authorities engaged in crimes against humanity while crushing widespread anti-government demonstrations that erupted across the country in December 2025 and January 2026.
Investigators characterized the state crackdown as an unprecedented escalation compared to past security operations, noting that violent repression occurred on a staggering scale across all 31 provinces of Iran. The report detailed the widespread employment of lethal force by state security units, resulting in extensive civilian fatalities, catastrophic injuries, and mass detentions.
Testimonies collected from eyewitnesses, healthcare workers, and relatives of victims revealed that security personnel routinely took up positions on rooftops and other high vantage points to discharge military assault rifles directly into crowds of demonstrators. Many protesters sustained critical injuries as security elements sought to violently disperse gatherings across major population centers.
Tehran has yet to release a formal statement addressing the UN mission's latest report. However, Iranian officials have routinely dismissed international allegations regarding systematic human rights abuses and state violence in the past.
The dual findings place intense international scrutiny on both Washington and Tehran, highlighting how military engagement and internal repression have simultaneously eroded civilian protections under international humanitarian law. As the UN Human Rights Council prepares to review the findings, international calls for accountability regarding both foreign strikes and domestic state abuses are expected to intensify.
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