UN Mission Sees Evidence of US War Crimes in Iran

A United Nations inquiry has concluded there are "reasonable grounds to believe" the US carried out two deadly airstrikes in Iran in February that qualify as war crimes under international law. The fact-finding mission, reporting to the UN Human Rights Council, found US forces likely hit a primary school in Minab, killing more than 150 people, including about 120 children, and a sports center in Lamerd that left 22 civilians dead or injured. The strikes were deemed "indiscriminate," and the report called both the sports complex and the school "clearly identifiable"; the latter was adjacent to an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval complex, reports Reuters. The AP notes the Trump administration has not shared the findings of a Pentagon investigation into the school bombing.

The same report accuses Iranian authorities of crimes against humanity over their response to nationwide protests that began in late December, citing unlawful killings, torture, mass detentions, disappearances, and harsh curbs on free expression.