Two strikes in southern Iran, a primary school in Minab and a sports complex in Lamerd, sit at the centre of a UN report that puts both Washington and Tehran on the wrong side of international law. A fact-finding mission said it has reasonable grounds to believe the United States committed war crimes in the February strikes. The same report concludes that Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity in their crackdown on protests that began in late December.
The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran took its findings to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Reuters reported that the Pentagon declined to comment, and that the White House spokeswoman, Anna Kelly, answered that the council had “accomplished nothing for human rights” and that Iran alone had committed war crimes.
Minab and Lamerd
At the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab, more than 150 people were killed, including around 120 schoolchildren, according to Iranian officials. The mission found no evidence the school served any military purpose. It was next to an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval complex, but investigators said the US failed to update its targeting information or confirm the building was a military objective, which went beyond negligence. They described the school as a clearly identifiable civilian site, with school signs, murals and a playground.
Counts differ. One report cites a UN total of 157 dead, and AP put the combined toll from both strikes at no fewer than 178 civilians. Investigators also said the US relied on intelligence that a senior Iranian commander was present but did not verify it sufficiently.
In Lamerd, in Fars province, the mission examined a strike on a sports complex and a nearby residential area. Precision missiles scattered tungsten pellets, killing 22 civilians and damaging homes. Independent weapons experts linked the pattern to the PrSM missile, and Airwars found civilians had died as far as 50 meters from the detonation points. A US official told The New York Times the weapon was the PrSM, being used in combat for the first time. US Central Command said in March that it carried out no strike in Lamerd that day.
Washington walks out
The next day the US State Department announced that Washington had ended its membership and participation in the Human Rights Council, accusing it of “anti-American rhetoric”. The council was midway through its 63rd regular session, which runs until October 7.
The mission’s findings on Iran are no less grave. It said the government’s handling of the unrest, including killings, an internet shutdown and use of the death penalty, marked a significant escalation from earlier crackdowns. Officials put the dead at 3,038 and the injured at 25,000. The mission could not verify those figures but believes the true toll is likely far higher. Tehran has said “terrorists and rioters” were to blame.
Sources
- UN mission finds grounds to believe US committed war crimes in Iran, and Tehran crimes against humanity
- UN mission cites possible US war crimes in Iran strikes and Iran abuses
- US withdraws from UN Human Rights Council after UN mission cites possible war crimes in Iran
