The United States likely committed “war crimes” in Iran when it launched a pair of air strikes that killed at least 178 civilians, including women and children, a United Nations fact-finding mission said on Thursday.
The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, in a report released on Thursday, also accused Iran of human rights violations and crimes against humanity during protests in 2025 and early 2026, reports Al Jazeera.
The mission examined US conduct during the war in Iran and the Iranian government’s response to nationwide unrest that began in late December. The findings are due to be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
US strikes against civilians
The mission cited a US attack on Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab on February 28, which killed more than 150 people, including about 120 children, as one of the incidents it investigated.
The strike came on the same day that the US and Israel launched their war against Iran.
The school was hit by Tomahawk missiles, according to the report.
“The Mission concluded that when identifying and directing its attack against the primary school in Minab, whose civilian nature is apparent, the US failed in its obligation to do everything feasible to verify that it was a military objective,” the report said.
The mission said photographs and videos taken before and after the strike showed “readily identifiable features” indicating that the site was an educational facility for young children.
These included child-oriented murals on the exterior walls, school signs and playground areas, it said.
The report also said publicly available satellite imagery appeared to show human figures, identifiable as children, gathered in the school’s courtyard before the attack.
Following the strike, state-affiliated media showed extensive destruction at the site, including parents holding the remains of their children and bloodied schoolbags and textbooks.
“Several families lost more than one child, reflecting the devastating impact of the attack on families and the wider community,” the report said.
In June, US President Donald Trump said that “nobody” had deliberately attacked a girls’ school in Iran in February, referring to an investigation into the incident. The Pentagon has not yet released its findings.
The mission also examined a US air strike on a sports complex and residential area in Lamerd on February 28. It said precision-guided missiles used in the attack dispersed clouds of tungsten pellets, killing 22 civilian men and women.
According to the mission, the sports complex was “visibly separate” from an adjacent compound belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
US Central Command said in a statement in March that US forces had not carried out any strikes in the city of Lamerd that day.
Iran protests
The UN mission also accused Iranian authorities of repressing demonstrators during the 2025-2026 protests through an internet shutdown, unlawful killings, torture, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and severe restrictions on freedom of expression.
It said the number of people killed and injured by state forces was significantly higher than the toll reported by the Iranian government, which said 3,038 people were killed and 25,000 injured.
However, the mission said it could not independently verify the exact number of deaths and injuries.
Tehran has said most of the deaths occurred as a result of actions by “rioters”, whom it has accused of being backed by exiled opponents as well as the US and Israel.
The UN fact-finding mission called on Iran and the US to immediately end hostilities, provide reparations to victims and pursue a lasting peace through diplomatic means.
