A United Nations fact-finding mission has said there are reasonable grounds to believe that US forces were responsible for two strikes in Iran in February that amounted to war crimes.
The investigation focused on an attack on a primary school in Minab and another strike on a sports facility in Lamerd. According to Iranian officials, more than 150 people were killed in the Minab attack, including about 120 children.
UN investigators said the school was a civilian site and found no evidence that it was being used for military purposes. They said US forces appeared to have relied on intelligence suggesting that an Iranian military commander was at the location but failed to properly confirm the information before the attack.
The report also examined a strike on a sports centre in Lamerd. It said the attack damaged nearby homes and a school and left 22 civilians dead or injured. The mission classified the strike as indiscriminate.
US officials have previously said American military operations follow the laws governing armed conflict. Washington has not immediately responded to the latest findings. Iran has also rejected allegations of systematic human rights abuses.
The UN investigation separately accused Iranian authorities of crimes against humanity during a crackdown on anti-government protests that began in late December.
The report cited allegations of unlawful killings, torture, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and restrictions on freedom of expression.
The mission said it could not independently confirm the total number of deaths but believed the figure was likely much higher than Iran’s official count of 3,038 people killed and 25,000 injured.
The findings are expected to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
