A United Nations fact-finding mission has concluded that there are "reasonable grounds" to believe the United States carried out indiscriminate attacks in Iran on 28 February that resulted in the deaths and injuries of civilians, including at a school in the southern city of Minab.
Findings from the U.N.-backed team
The international team, commissioned by the U.N.'s top human rights body to investigate the conduct of hostilities in Iran, focused its allegations on a pair of strikes on 28 February. The mission says the two attacks together killed at least 178 civilians, among them children and women.
According to the report:
- One strike reportedly struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab; the team says a U.S. munition likely hit the clearly identifiable school.
- A second attack struck a sports complex and nearby residential area in Lamerd, where the mission said a precision strike missile dispersed tungsten pellets over a clearly identifiable civilian site, killing 22 civilian men and women.
| Location | Site | Alleged weapon type | Civilian deaths (per mission) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minab | Shajareh Tayyebeh school | U.S. munition (likely) | Included in total of at least 178 |
| Lamerd | Sports complex and residential area | Precision strike missile dispersing tungsten pellets (alleged) | 22 |
Claims, denials and outstanding investigations
The mission's report links the Minab strike to a U.S. munition, citing earlier reporting by NBC News that a U.S. weapon likely hit the school. Iranian state media has reported that 168 people were killed in the Minab strike, most of them children; the mission describes the broader toll from both strikes as at least 178 civilians.
The U.S. has not accepted responsibility for the Minab attack, and the Trump administration had not publicly accepted blame or released the findings of a Pentagon investigation into the school bombing, the mission noted. U.S. Central Command has specifically denied responsibility for the Lamerd strike.
"Following the United States and Israeli attacks on 28 February, the mission found reasonable grounds to believe the United States committed the war crime of launching indiscriminate attacks resulting in the loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects," the fact-finding team said.
Broader context and other allegations
Beyond the two strikes, the mission reported that killings by Iranian state security forces occurred on a "staggering scale" and advanced allegations of crimes against humanity by the Iranian government. The team said civilians were caught between large-scale abuses by their own authorities and deadly conflict involving the United States and Israel.
The inquiry is chaired by jurist Sara Hossain of Bangladesh and is described as composed of independent human rights experts. Its findings stop short of judicial determination but form part of a U.N.-mandated process to document alleged violations, identify patterns of conduct and inform potential accountability mechanisms.
Such findings carry legal and diplomatic implications. While a fact-finding mission can establish prima facie evidence and make recommendations, it does not itself have the authority to impose criminal liability; any prosecutions would depend on subsequent domestic or international legal processes, or referral to bodies with jurisdiction.
At present, the government of the United States has publicly denied responsibility for at least one of the strikes and the Pentagon has not made the full contents of its internal inquiry public. The mission's publication is likely to intensify calls for transparency, further investigation and possible legal scrutiny from states and rights organisations.
The U.N. team's report adds to a growing international record of enquiries into civilian harm during the wider conflict and will be closely watched by governments, legal experts and human rights groups seeking accountability for alleged violations of the laws of armed conflict.
