UN Fact-Finding Mission: US Behind Attacks on Minab School, Committing War Crimes
A UN fact-finding mission team stated on Thursday (17/09/2026), as cited by Reuters, that they have grounds to believe the United States was behind two military attacks on a school and a sports facility in Iran in February 2<0xA0>2026. The UN concluded that these two attacks constitute war crimes.
The findings are contained in the report of the International Independent Fact-Finding Mission for Iran, which will be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Neither the Iranian government nor the UN representative in Geneva immediately responded to requests for clarification from Reuters regarding this matter.
UN experts stated they found strong reasons to believe that US forces are responsible for the attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab City, where more than 150 people died, including 120 children according to Iranian officials.
The strike is assessed as an indiscriminate attack resulting in civilian deaths and damage to civilian infrastructure. The fact-finding team concluded that a war crime occurred with reference to international law.
According to the report, the US failed to update information regarding the attack on the school in Minab, which is adjacent to an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) complex, and relied on intelligence suggesting an Iranian military commander was present in the building. Investigators concluded that this failure to verify that the building was a legitimate military target was more than mere negligence.
“Instead, the US directed attacks at the school building while being aware of the risk of attacking a civilian object and acted recklessly regarding the occurrence of such an event,” stated the UN International Independent Fact-Finding Mission report.
In June, US President Donald Trump stated that “nothing” intentionally attacked an all-girls school in Iran in February, while noting that an investigation was underway. Reuters previously reported that initial US military investigation reports indicated that US Armed Forces were likely responsible for the fatal attack on the Minab school.
UN experts stated that the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School was clearly identified as a civilian object, and they found no evidence that the school was being used for military purposes. The experts reached a similar conclusion regarding the attack on a sports facility in Lamerd.
The report noted that the attack damaged residential buildings and a school, resulting in the deaths of 22 civilians. It concluded that the attack was indiscriminate and therefore a war crime.
In March 2026, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) stated that US forces did not launch attacks against the city of Lamerd.