A United Nations-mandated fact-finding mission says there are reasonable grounds to believe the United States may have committed war crimes in two February 2026 strikes on civilian sites in Iran: a primary school in Minab and a sports complex in Lamerd. The mission said the strikes killed at least 179 people according to local figures, including children, while Washington rejects the findings and disputes responsibility for the Lamerd attack.
What happened at the two sites
On February 28, missiles struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab, in Hormozgan province, at about 10:30am local time. The school stood about 72 metres from an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval facility but had a separate entrance and wall. Satellite images showed a functioning school with classrooms, a playground and children’s murals.
The mission said the school was hit twice. After the first strike hit the lower floor, staff moved children to a prayer room upstairs; a second strike hit that floor. Local officials reported 156 deaths, including 120 schoolchildren and 26 female teachers. Independent sources cited by the mission put the toll at 157, including 15 children aged six.
Later that day, at about 5:10pm local time, an air strike hit the Shahid Haj Khalil Naimi Cultural and Sports Complex in Lamerd, Fars province. The mission said the facility had no military use. Local officials reported 22 deaths, including four children, and more than 100 injuries; an adjacent school was damaged.
What we know now
- The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran submitted its findings to the UN Human Rights Council after months of investigation.
- Investigators did not receive access to US or Israeli personnel or responses to their information requests.
- The mission relied on satellite imagery, verified video, weapons analysis and witness accounts from Iranian sources and independent organisations.
- Its report urged an immediate end to the hostilities, reparations for victims and diplomatic efforts toward lasting peace.
Why the mission reached its conclusion
Weapons analysts identified fragments from the Minab site as belonging to a US Tomahawk Land Attack Missile, which Iran does not possess. On May 19, CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper said preliminary Pentagon findings “correlated” the strike with US forces. The mission also cited reporting that a preliminary Pentagon investigation linked the attack to outdated intelligence that wrongly treated the school as part of the nearby military site.
Washington has not disputed responsibility for the Minab strike but President Donald Trump said in June that “nobody” purposefully attacked the school. The United States denies responsibility for Lamerd. CENTCOM said the damage was consistent with an Iranian Hoveyzeh cruise missile, while the mission cited weapons experts who ruled that out and identified a US-made Precision Strike Missile instead.
What ‘war crime’ means in this case
The mission said international humanitarian law required the United States to distinguish military targets from civilian sites and take all feasible precautions before attacking. It concluded that the Minab school was visibly civilian and that the United States failed to do everything feasible to verify it was a military objective. Related coverage: Chad begins process to leave International Criminal Court citing bias concerns.
Human rights lawyer Reed Brody said a violation does not automatically meet the threshold for a war crime and that intent matters. He described the relevant standard as recklessness: being aware of a substantial risk of an unlawful outcome and proceeding anyway. The mission called the conduct “willful” and said the failure to update targeting information went beyond mere negligence; it said both incidents could meet the threshold for launching an indiscriminate attack.
What happens next
The White House disputes the mission’s findings. Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said the administration believed Iran was responsible for war crimes and defended the strikes as part of an effort to prevent Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon.
The report does not automatically create legal consequences for the United States. Brody said its findings could form the basis for other proceedings, but accountability would depend on political will. The United States has withdrawn from the International Court of Justice, while the International Criminal Court prosecutes individuals rather than countries. Read the context: Washington expands sanctions against two International Criminal Court officials.
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