United Nations human rights experts have determined that there are reasonable grounds to believe the United States military committed war crimes during two separate missile strikes in Iran that killed at least 177 civilians. The conclusions were detailed in a newly released assessment by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, presented directly to the UN Human Rights Council.
According to the mission's three independent investigators, the deadly bombardments targeted a primary school in the southern town of Minab and a sports complex in Lamerd. Both strikes, which took place in February, were characterized by the panel as indiscriminate attacks that inflicted substantial civilian loss of life and extensive destruction on non-military infrastructure.
The comprehensive findings also delivered severe condemnations of the Iranian government, determining that domestic security forces engaged in crimes against humanity while repressing nationwide anti-government demonstrations in January. The panel noted that the violent suppression resulted in fatalities on an unprecedented and staggering scale across all 31 Iranian provinces.
Reflecting on the findings, the fact-finding mission emphasized that Iranian civilians find themselves caught in a perilous position, enduring grave human rights abuses and state-sponsored violence at home while simultaneously facing the lethal consequences of an external armed conflict involving the United States and Israel.
The deadliest single incident scrutinized by the UN experts occurred on February 28, the opening day of joint US and Israeli military operations against Iran. In that attack, Tomahawk cruise missiles struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School located in Minab, leaving at least 156 people dead, including 120 children, according to figures provided by local authorities.
In their evaluation of the Minab strike, the experts noted that while the educational facility was adjacent to an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval complex that was also bombarded that day, the school remained clearly distinguishable as a civilian site. Furthermore, investigators found no evidence indicating that the school grounds were being utilized for any military activities.
The UN panel established US responsibility for the Minab school bombing based on multiple converging lines of evidence. Investigators highlighted that the United States is the exclusive belligerent in the conflict armed with Tomahawk missiles, while also pointing to media disclosures indicating that a preliminary US military internal inquiry had acknowledged American responsibility for the incident.
The panel concluded that the school itself served as the direct point of impact rather than being damaged by an errant projectile or collateral fallout from the neighboring naval installation. Survivors corroborated this assessment by testifying that the school was struck on two separate occasions during the bombardment.
The Pentagon has not publicly released the formal conclusions of its internal review regarding the Minab disaster. However, United States Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has previously defended American operational standards, asserting that the armed forces would never intentionally target civilian objectives.
On the same day as the Minab bombing, another devastating strike took place in the town of Lamerd, where Precision Strike Missiles dispersed clouds of tungsten pellets across a public sports complex and adjacent residential dwellings. Local officials reported that the strike killed at least 21 civilians, among them seven children.
Similar to the school in Minab, the UN fact-finding mission found that the Lamerd sports complex was easily identifiable as civilian property with no evidence of military utility. Because the US is the only combatant operating Precision Strike Missiles in the theater, the panel determined there were reasonable grounds to hold American forces responsible for the assault.
American military officials have disputed accounts connecting US forces to the Lamerd fatalities, denying that any strikes were carried out in the town on that date and rejecting independent reports identifying the munition fragments as components of a Precision Strike Missile.
Evaluating both the Minab and Lamerd incidents together, the UN panel concluded that the actions satisfied the legal definition of war crimes, specifically involving the launching of indiscriminate attacks that caused civilian casualties and severe harm to protected non-military targets.
Alongside its analysis of foreign military strikes, the UN mission documented severe internal state violence carried out by Iranian authorities against mass protests in December 2025 and January 2026. Investigators gathered testimony from victims' families, healthcare personnel, and witnesses describing how security forces fired assault rifles into crowds from rooftops and elevated vantage points, resulting in mass casualties and extensive arrests across the country.
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