UN Report Concludes Deadly US Strikes on Iran, Including Elementary School Hit, May Constitute War Crimes

A UN fact-finding mission has concluded in a new report that two deadly US strikes on Iran during the opening salvo of the war—including one that struck an elementary school—may have constituted war crimes. Independent investigators also found that Iran may have committed crimes against humanity in its crackdown against government protesters.

The findings by the UN’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission, which will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council, could be utilized by international courts such as the International Criminal Court. According to Iranian officials, at least 156 people, including 120 children and 26 teachers, were killed when the school in the southern city of Minab was struck on February 28. This incident stands as one of the worst civilian casualty events in recent US military history.

Investigators also reviewed a second US strike on the same day targeting a sports center and residential area in the southern city of Lamerd, which resulted in 22 civilian deaths according to the UN. The report states there are "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" in both instances.

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly responded in a statement: “The only party in this conflict that has committed war crimes is the Iranian regime, which has murdered thousands of its own people, killed Americans overseas, executed acts of terrorism in the Strait of Hormuz, and launched indiscriminate attacks against its neighbors in the region.” She added, “The President is courageously ensuring that such an evil country never possesses a nuclear weapon, which will make the entire world safer and more stable.”

A US State Department official told CNN that the Trump administration does “not give credibility to findings this report,” pointing out that President Donald Trump formally withdrew the US from the UN Human Rights Council in February 2025. The Department of Defense declined to comment beyond stating that an investigation remains ongoing and it has nothing to announce at present. Early evidence indicates the military may have accidentally hit the school due to outdated intelligence while attacking a neighboring Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval base.

The report was compiled using satellite imagery, video, photos, expert information, and dozens of interviews conducted both inside and outside Iran. Additionally, the UN mission analyzed Iran's brutal domestic repression of anti-government protesters in late 2025 and early 2026, which killed thousands and involved the torture and disappearance of detainees, amounting to crimes against humanity.

Iran did not grant investigators unhindered access and responded to only about a quarter of the UN's information requests. Requests for meetings and information sent to US government officials and the Israeli government went unanswered.