UN Fact-Finding Mission Concludes US May Have Committed War Crimes in Iran Strikes

A United Nations-mandated fact-finding mission has concluded that the United States may have committed war crimes when it carried out two separate air strikes in Iran in February 2026. The investigation, led by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran, submitted its formal conclusions to the UN Human Rights Council after months of probing strikes on a primary school in Minab and a sports complex in Lamerd amid the wider US-Israeli military campaign against Iran.

The strikes occurred on February 28, 2026, as the joint US-Israeli assault began following stalled nuclear negotiations. Neither Washington nor Israel granted the UN mission access to personnel or information, leading investigators to rely instead on satellite imagery, verified video footage, weapons analysis, and independent witness accounts.

The first incident took place at about 10:30am local time at the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab, located in Hormozgan province in southern Iran. Investigators found that the school was situated roughly 72 metres from an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) naval facility, but was separated by a wall, featured a distinct entrance, and was clearly identifiable via satellite imagery as a functioning educational facility decorated with children's murals and a playground. The facility was struck twice; the first missile hit the lower floor, and as staff evacuated children to an upper-floor prayer room, a second strike hit, resulting in significant casualties. Local officials reported a death toll of 156, including 120 schoolchildren and 26 female teachers, while independent sources cited by the UN mission placed the toll at 157, including six-year-old children. Although the Trump administration initially sought to blame Iranian forces, weapons analysts identified fragments of a US Tomahawk Land Attack Missile at the site.

Later that day, at approximately 5:10pm, an air strike hit the Shahid Haj Khalil Naimi Cultural and Sports Complex in Lamerd, Fars province, which the UN mission determined had no military utility. Local authorities reported 22 deaths, including four children, over 100 injuries, and damage to an adjacent school. While the US Central Command (CENTCOM) claimed the damage was consistent with an Iranian Hoveyzeh cruise missile, weapons experts rejected this assessment due to design differences, pointing instead to a US-made Precision Strike Missile.

The White House has firmly rejected the UN report. White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly dismissed the UN Human Rights Council's findings, stating that the council had "accomplished nothing for human rights, spouting unserious nonsense for decades." Kelly maintained that the Iranian regime is the sole party committing war crimes in the conflict and defended the administration's objectives regarding Iran's nuclear program. While the US has not disputed responsibility for the Minab school strike—with CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper noting preliminary Pentagon findings correlated the strike with US forces, and media reports indicating outdated intelligence—Washington continues to dispute responsibility for the Lamerd strike.

According to international human rights experts, establishing a war crime requires proving a legal threshold of recklessness rather than deliberate intent to target civilians. Human rights lawyer Reed Brody explained that the mission's findings of recklessness relied on outdated targeting data, the clear civilian nature of the school, and administration policies altering collateral damage mitigation systems. While the report does not carry automatic legal consequences—particularly given that the US has withdrawn from the International Court of Justice and Iran is unlikely to join the International Criminal Court—experts note that such findings can serve as a reference for future international proceedings and political accountability.

The UN-mandated mission has called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, victim reparations, and renewed diplomatic efforts toward lasting peace.