Iran Fact-Finding Mission: Crimes Against Humanity, US War Crimes

A United Nations fact-finding mission on Iran has concluded that the Iranian government committed crimes against humanity during its crackdown on mass protests, and that the United States committed war crimes in strikes it carried out during the war that began in February. The findings come from the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, in a report released this week that will be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The Iran fact-finding mission examined two things: the conduct of the United States during the Iran war that began in February, and the Iranian government's response to nationwide unrest that began in late December and stretched into this year. Its conclusions are unsparing toward both.

Crackdown on protests amounted to crimes against humanity

The mission found that killings by Iranian security forces occurred on a massive scale in all provinces during what it called the government's violent crackdown on the protests. At least 221 children, some as young as two years old, were killed. Security forces also attacked health care facilities, beating and arresting wounded protesters and arresting some health care workers, which discouraged victims from seeking life-saving care, according to the report.

Tens of thousands of people were subjected to arbitrary detention, where they faced torture, solitary confinement and denial of legal advice, while their families were left without any information about where they were held, raising concerns about enforced disappearances.

The mission also documented the execution of at least 29 men in connection with the protests following summary trials, five of whom were publicly executed. It warned that more than 70 people, including five women and three boys, still face imminent risk of execution.

Taken together, the report concluded, many of these grave violations amount to crimes against humanity, including murder, imprisonment, torture and other inhumane acts committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against civilians.

The Iran fact-finding mission said it could not independently verify the death toll but believed the number of dead and injured was likely far higher than official figures, which say 3,038 people were killed and 25,000 injured. The government's response, including the violence and killings, the cutting off of the internet and the use of the death penalty, marked a significant escalation from previous patterns of suppressing dissent, the report found. Rights groups have called it the biggest crackdown since the 1979 revolution.

US strikes on a school and sports complex were war crimes, the mission found

The Iran fact-finding mission found reasonable grounds to believe the United States committed war crimes through indiscriminate attacks that killed or injured civilians or damaged civilian objects. The findings center on two strikes carried out in February.

The first was a Tomahawk missile strike on the clearly identifiable Tree of Tayyiba Elementary School in Minab, which killed more than 150 people, including about 120 children. According to the report, the US relied on intelligence suggesting a senior Iranian military commander was present at the site but failed to adequately verify that information before launching the strike. Investigators said the failure to update targeting intelligence and confirm the building was a military objective went beyond mere negligence: the strikes were directed at the school while the US was aware of a substantial risk of hitting a civilian object and acted recklessly as regards that possibility. The mission found no evidence the school was being used for military purposes.

Reuters first reported that an initial internal US military investigation showed US forces were likely responsible for the fatal strike in Minab. In June, US President Donald Trump said that nobody had purposefully attacked a girls' school in Iran in February, citing an investigation into the incident. The Pentagon has since elevated the probe but has not published any preliminary findings.

The second strike hit a sports complex and residential area in Lamard, where precision missiles launched clouds of tungsten pellets, killing 22 civilians. The mission concluded that strike was also indiscriminate and therefore constituted a war crime. US Central Command said in a statement in March that US forces did not launch any strikes into the city of Lamerd on that day.

The Iranian and US permanent missions in Geneva did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the findings. US officials have previously said military operations are conducted in accordance with the law of armed conflict, while Iran has consistently rejected allegations of systematic rights violations.

Calls for compensation, investigations and accountability

The Iran fact-finding mission urged both Iran and the United States to immediately cease all violations and crimes, provide full compensation to the victims, and ensure that such acts are not repeated. The independent experts, who are not UN staff and do not represent any organization, reiterated the UN's call to all combatants to immediately cease hostilities and work toward a permanent peace.

The report also says allegations of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law by all parties should be independently investigated, with those responsible held to account.

The full findings are available in the UN News coverage of the report and Reuters reporting on the mission's findings.