UN mission finds grounds for U.S. war crimes in two February strikes on Iran

The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran said on Thursday it had reasonable grounds to believe the United States carried out two indiscriminate attacks on 28 February and that those attacks amount to war crimes. The findings go to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday.

The first strike hit Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab, in southern Iran. Iranian officials say more than 150 people were killed, including about 120 children and 26 teachers. The school stood next to an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval complex. The mission said it found no information that the school was in military use that day. It said the United States failed to do everything feasible to confirm the building was a military objective, and that the failure to update targeting databases “went beyond mere negligence.”

The second strike hit a sports centre and nearby homes in Lamerd the same day. The mission said 22 civilians were killed or wounded and that a school and residential buildings were damaged. Investigators described munitions that dispersed tungsten pellets. They again found a clearly identifiable civilian object and no evidence of military use.

What Washington has already said

The United States has not issued a detailed public targeting account of Minab. In May, U.S. Central Command’s Adm. Brad Cooper told the House Armed Services Committee the attack “correlated” with a U.S. strike. In June President Donald Trump said “nobody did that on purpose” and that “mistakes are made.” The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately answer questions about Thursday’s report.

A finding of “reasonable grounds” is the mission’s standard. It is not a criminal verdict. The mission cannot prosecute. The Human Rights Council can debate, mandate further work, or refer language to other UN bodies. National courts and the International Criminal Court sit outside this process unless a state with jurisdiction chooses to act.

The other half of the report

The same document finds that Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity during the crackdown on protests that began in late December 2025. It says the death toll likely exceeds official figures, that murder, torture and persecution occurred, and that a nationwide internet shutdown restricted the right to seek information. It records at least 58 executions announced since the start of 2026, including 29 men killed in connection with the protests.

Pairing the two findings is the political design of the report. Governments that want to talk only about Minab will be pointed at the protest chapter. Governments that want to talk only about Tehran’s prisons will be pointed at the school. The mission’s claim is that both sets of facts meet the legal tests it is mandated to apply.

Monday’s Council session will show which states quote which chapter. The operational facts the report adds to the public record are specific: a primary school in Minab on 28 February, a sports centre in Lamerd the same day, a U.S. officer’s later correlation, a presidential remark about mistakes, and a parallel charge against the Iranian state for the winter protest killings.