TEHRAN: A UN-commissioned human rights mission has found “reasonable grounds” to believe that the United States committed war crimes in two airstrikes in Iran, including a deadly attack on a school in the southern city of Minab.
The international fact finding mission said the two strikes on February 28 resulted in the deaths of at least 178 civilians, including women and children. Its findings have added fresh international scrutiny to the US military campaign in Iran, according to Tasnim News Agency.
One of the strikes hit the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab, according to reports. Iranian state media have said that 168 people were killed in the attack, most of them children. However, a final independent account of the casualties has not yet been established.
In a statement, the UN-backed mission said it had reasonable grounds to believe that the United States carried out “indiscriminate attacks” that caused civilian deaths and injuries and damaged civilian objects. The finding refers to alleged violations of international humanitarian law and does not amount to a final criminal judgment.
The mission examined two strikes in particular. The first involved Tomahawk missiles hitting what investigators described as a “clearly identifiable” school in Minab. The second involved precision-guided missiles that scattered tungsten pellets over a “clearly identifiable” sports complex and nearby residential area in Lamerd, also in southern Iran.
According to the mission, the Lamerd strike killed 22 civilian men and women.
The US government has not publicly accepted responsibility for the school attack and has not released the findings of a reported Pentagon investigation. US Central Command has also denied responsibility for the Lamerd strike.
The allegations come as questions continue to grow over civilian protection and the conduct of military operations during the conflict. The UN mission’s findings are expected to add pressure for further investigation into the two attacks and the deaths of civilians caught in the violence.
