UN Fact-Finding Mission: “U.S. School Airstrikes in Iran Constitute War Crimes”

Over 150 Killed in Elementary School Airstrike
"Attack Carried Out Despite Knowledge It Was a Civilian Facility"
White House: "Preposterous Allegations"

The United Nations has found reasonable grounds to conclude that the United States’ airstrikes on elementary schools and sports facilities in Iran constitute war crimes.

In a report released on September 17 (local time), the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran stated that, after investigating airstrikes targeting Shazare Tayebeh Elementary School in Minab, southern Iran, and a sports facility in Lamerd on February 28, it reached these conclusions.

The mission concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that U.S. forces carried out the airstrike on the Minab elementary school. According to figures cited in the report from Iranian authorities, more than 150 people were killed in the attack, of whom approximately 120 were children.

The United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran released a report on the Iran war on the 17th (local time). UN

The mission noted that, although the school was located near an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval base, it could be clearly identified as a civilian facility, and no evidence was found that it was being used for military purposes.

The mission judged that U.S. forces launched the airstrike based on information that a senior Iranian commander was present, but failed to sufficiently verify this prior to the attack. The mission also pointed out that the United States did not update information about the school in its target database and failed to confirm whether the building was a military target.

The mission stated, "The United States attacked the school building despite being aware of the significant risk of striking a civilian facility, and recklessly disregarded the possibility of such a consequence." It further determined that this indiscriminate attack, resulting in civilian deaths and the destruction of civilian facilities, constitutes a war crime under international law.

The mission also found reasonable grounds to conclude that U.S. forces attacked a sports facility and surrounding residential areas in Lamerd, southern Iran, on the same day. It was found that tungsten fragments from precision-guided munitions struck the sports facility and residential neighborhood, killing 22 civilian men and women. The mission judged that this attack, too, was an indiscriminate strike that failed to distinguish between civilians and civilian facilities, thereby constituting a war crime.

However, the United States Central Command maintains that it did not conduct the airstrike on the Lamerd sports facility. The U.S. Department of Defense stated that its own investigation into the Minab school strike is ongoing and declined to comment on the United Nations report.

Previously, during a House Armed Services Committee hearing in May, General Brad Cooper, Commander of U.S. Central Command, stated that the strike on the Minab school was "connected" to U.S. airstrikes carried out in the same region. In June, U.S. President Donald Trump said, "No one did such a thing on purpose," adding, "Mistakes happen."

The White House strongly refuted the United Nations findings. In a statement, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly criticized, "For decades, the United Nations Human Rights Council has engaged in unserious and frivolous rhetoric, achieving nothing for human rights."

The mission stated it requested information about the airstrikes from the U.S. government and attempted to interview authorities, but received no response.

The report also determined that the Iranian government’s human rights violations amount to crimes against humanity. The mission found that, in suppressing anti-government protests that began at the end of 2025, the Iranian government engaged in killings, detentions, severe deprivation of physical liberty, torture, and inhumane acts.

Earlier this year, the Iranian government announced it had executed at least 58 people. Of these, 29 men were executed between March and August 2025 and 2026 in connection with large-scale anti-government protests.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.