A United Nations fact-finding mission has placed two of the most devastating events of 2026 into the language of international law, concluding there are reasonable grounds to believe the United States committed war crimes in February missile strikes that killed at least 177 civilians in Iran — including 120 children at a primary school — while also finding that Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity against their own people during a sweeping crackdown on protesters. The findings arrive at a moment when Iranian civilians find themselves, as the UN itself observed, caught between
UN experts find reasonable grounds US committed war crimes in Iran strikes
At least 177 civilians killed in US strikes including 120 children; thousands killed in Iranian government crackdown on protesters with tens of thousands detained and tortured.
Civilians caught between gross violations by their own government and deadly conflict with the US
Mark
So the UN is saying the US struck a school full of children. How confident are they in that conclusion?
Mimi
They say there are "reasonable grounds to believe" it happened. They point to the fact that only the US has Tomahawk missiles, that survivors said the school was hit twice, and that a preliminary US military inquiry apparently found US forces responsible.
Luke
But we should be clear—that preliminary inquiry finding comes from media reports, not a public US military statement. The Pentagon still hasn't released its own investigation. So we're working partly from secondhand accounts.
Mark
What about the second strike, on the sports complex?
Mimi
Similar reasoning. The UN experts identified the weapon as a Precision Strike Missile, which again only the US possesses. But the US military flatly denies it struck Lamerd at all and disputes the weapon identification.
Luke
Right. So on both strikes, we have the UN experts on one side saying they have reasonable grounds to believe the US did it, and the US military on the other side either denying it or saying they're still investigating. The gap between those positions is real.
Mark
And the death toll—177 people total?
Mimi
At least 177 in the two strikes. The school alone killed at least 156, including 120 children. Those are the figures from local authorities.
Luke
Which means we're relying on local reporting for the numbers. The UN experts say they gathered evidence including media reports, but they didn't conduct their own on-the-ground count. That's worth noting.
Mark
What about the Iranian government's actions during the protests? Is that part of the same report?
Mimi
Yes. The UN found crimes against humanity—systematic killing, torture, mass detention. Security forces fired on crowds from rooftops. People were blinded by pellets. Hospitals were attacked.
Luke
And on the death toll there, the UN says they can't independently verify it, but they think it's much higher than the government's 3,000 figure. A US-based activist group says over 7,000 were killed.
Mark
So both sides are accused of serious crimes.
Mimi
That's the reality the UN statement points to—Iranians are trapped between their own government's violence and the conflict with the US and Israel.
Le Pouls
- At least 120 children were killed when Tomahawk missiles struck a primary school in Minab on February 28, a building the UN determined had no military purpose and was struck twice — suggesting deliberate targeting rather than accident.
- A second strike scattered tungsten pellets across a sports complex and residential neighborhood in Lamerd, killing 21 more civilians, with UN experts identifying the weapon as one only the US military possesses.
- The US has denied or disputed responsibility for both strikes, the Pentagon has not released its own investigation, and a State Department official dismissed the UN findings outright — leaving accountability suspended in a diplomatic void.
- The same report documents an Iranian government crackdown of staggering scale: security forces firing into crowds from rooftops, hospitals raided, tens of thousands detained and tortured, and a death toll that independent monitors place above 7,000 — more than double the government's own figure.
- With at least 29 protesters executed after expedited trials and the UN formally naming both murder and torture as crimes against humanity, Iranian civilians now face legal condemnation of their government alongside the ongoing threat of foreign strikes.
- The UN's own framing — civilians 'caught between' their government's atrocities and a deadly international conflict — signals that no protective force currently stands between this population and compounding catastrophe.
A United Nations fact-finding mission has placed two of the most devastating events of 2026 into the language of international law, concluding there are reasonable grounds to believe the United States committed war crimes in February missile strikes that killed at least 177 civilians in Iran — including 120 children at a primary school — while also finding that Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity against their own people during a sweeping crackdown on protesters. The findings arrive at a moment when Iranian civilians find themselves, as the UN itself observed, caught between the violence of their own government and the violence of a foreign war. Neither Washington nor Tehran has accepted the conclusions, yet the record now exists — names, weapons, coordinates, and a body count that history will not easily set aside.
A United Nations fact-finding mission has concluded there are reasonable grounds to believe the United States committed war crimes in two missile strikes on February 28 that killed at least 177 people in Iran. The strikes hit a primary school in the southern town of Minab and a sports complex in Lamerd — both clearly identifiable as civilian infrastructure with no evidence of military use.
The deadlier strike destroyed Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab, killing at least 156 people including 120 children. Though the school sat near an IRGC naval complex that was also struck that day, UN experts found the school was clearly a civilian facility and that survivors reported it was hit twice — indicating it was an intended target. The experts attributed the strike to the US based on media reports of a preliminary military inquiry, the fact that only the US possesses Tomahawk missiles, and the pattern of destruction. The Pentagon has not released its findings, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has insisted the military would never target civilians.
The second strike dispersed tungsten pellets over a sports complex and residential area in Lamerd, killing 21 civilians including seven children. The US denied carrying out any strikes in Lamerd that day and disputed the weapon's identification, but UN experts noted the munition used is possessed only by the US military. In both cases, the mission's three independent experts concluded the attacks constituted the war crime of launching indiscriminate attacks on civilian objects. A State Department official rejected the findings entirely.
The same report documented crimes against humanity committed by Iranian authorities during mass protests in late 2025 and early 2026. Security forces fired assault rifles into crowds from rooftops, attacked hospitals to arrest wounded demonstrators, and detained tens of thousands of people who were subsequently tortured and denied legal counsel. At least 29 protesters have since been executed following expedited trials. While the Iranian government has cited an official death toll of 3,000, independent monitors have confirmed more than 7,000 killed — nearly all of them protesters.
Iranian authorities have not yet responded to the UN findings, having previously rejected allegations of systematic abuse and blamed the unrest on foreign interference. The UN mission's own summary captured the impossible position of ordinary Iranians: trapped between a government committing crimes against humanity and a foreign conflict bringing missiles down on schools.
A United Nations fact-finding mission has concluded there are reasonable grounds to believe the United States committed war crimes in two missile strikes carried out on February 28 against civilian targets in Iran, killing at least 177 people. The strikes targeted a primary school in the southern town of Minab and a sports complex in Lamerd, both clearly identifiable as civilian infrastructure with no evidence of military use. The US has not acknowledged responsibility for either attack, though it said it was investigating the Minab incident and previously denied striking Lamerd altogether.
The deadlier of the two strikes hit Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab, where Tomahawk missiles killed at least 156 people according to local authorities, including 120 children. The school sat adjacent to an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval complex that was also attacked that day, but the UN experts found the school was clearly identifiable as a civilian facility and that survivors reported it was struck twice, suggesting it was the intended target rather than collateral damage. The experts based their conclusion that the US carried out the strike on several factors: media reports indicating a preliminary US military inquiry found US forces responsible, the fact that the US is the only party to the conflict possessing Tomahawk missiles, and the pattern of the damage itself. The US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has stated the military would "never target civilian targets," but the Pentagon has not yet released the findings of its investigation.
The second strike, also on February 28, dispersed tungsten pellets over a sports complex and residential area in Lamerd, killing at least 21 civilians including seven children. The UN experts determined the complex was clearly identifiable as civilian infrastructure and concluded there were reasonable grounds to believe the US carried out this strike as well, citing the fact that the US is the only party to the conflict that possesses Precision Strike Missiles, the weapon the experts identified as being used. The US military has disputed both the identification of the weapon and responsibility for the strike, saying it carried out no strikes on Lamerd that day.
In both cases, the UN fact-finding mission's three independent experts concluded there were "reasonable grounds to believe that the US committed the war crime of launching an indiscriminate attack resulting in loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects." A State Department official rejected the findings, saying the US did not give them credibility.
The same UN report also documented what the experts described as crimes against humanity committed by Iranian authorities during mass anti-government protests in December 2025 and January 2026. The crackdown, which the experts characterized as unprecedented in scale, involved security forces positioned on rooftops and elevated positions firing assault rifles into crowds. Protesters sustained severe injuries from metal shotgun pellets, with some suffering permanent blindness. As the unrest escalated, security forces attacked hospitals, beating and arresting wounded demonstrators and some healthcare workers, which discouraged victims from seeking medical care. Tens of thousands of people were detained during the protests and subjected to torture, solitary confinement, and denial of legal counsel.
The Iranian government has since intensified use of the death penalty against protesters, with at least 29 men executed following expedited trials on charges connected to the unrest. While the UN experts said it was not possible to independently verify the total death toll from the crackdown, they found strong grounds to believe it was significantly higher than the official government figure of 3,000. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency has confirmed the killing of more than 7,000 people, almost all of them protesters. The UN experts concluded that Iranian authorities had committed crimes against humanity including murder, imprisonment, torture, and other inhumane acts as part of a widespread and systematic attack against a civilian population.
Iranian authorities have not yet commented on the UN findings but have previously rejected allegations of systematic human rights violations. They have accused the US and Israel of fomenting the unrest and blamed deaths on what they described as "terrorists" and "rioters." The UN fact-finding mission's statement captured the bind facing Iranian civilians: "caught between gross human rights violations and crimes against humanity committed by their own government and the nation's deadly conflict with the United States and Israel."
Citations marquantes
The US does not give credibility to the findings in the report— US State Department official
The military would never target civilian targets— US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
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War & Conflict