United Nations panel finds grounds for war crimes by US forces in Iran

A United Nations-backed investigation has concluded that US forces likely committed war crimes during airstrikes in Iran earlier this year, centering on an attack that destroyed a primary school and killed more than 150 people, most of them children. The findings, released on September 17, 2026, by a UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission, represent one of the most serious formal allegations of US war crimes in decades. The report is scheduled for presentation at the UN Human Rights Council when it convenes in Geneva on September 21. What the investigators found The central finding concerns a February 28 airstrike on Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab, a city in southern Iran. According to the fact-finding mission, the attack killed over 150 people, including approximately 120 schoolchildren. Estimates in the report range from 156 to 175 total fatalities. Investigators classified the school as a “clearly identifiable civilian object” and found no evidence it was being used for military purposes at the time of the strike. Under international humanitarian law, attacking a known civilian target without military justification constitutes a war crime. The mission also ...