Iran-US live: Trump weighs ‘big decision’ on war after UN says school attack may have been war crime

Donald Trump has said he faces a “big decision” on how to proceed with the Iran war, in his first remarks since a UN report said two US strikes in February may have amounted to war crimes.

The president has yet to respond directly to the UN report, but in an interview with Axios he said: “I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate them [the Iranian regime] or do I not? It's a big decision. Anything could happen with me.”

Earlier, the UN fact-finding mission to Iran said the US struck a school in Iran “while being aware of a substantial risk of striking a civilian object”.

One of the strikes targeted a primary school in Minab, where more than 150 people were reportedly killed, including about 120 children, and another hit a sports centre in Lamerd that killed or injured 22 civilians.

The report, which also found that Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity during their deadly crackdown on anti-government protests, will be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva .

US president Donald Trump said he is approaching a decision on whether to restart large-scale military attacks on Iran in a bid to bring the war to a close.

"I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate them or do I not? It's a big decision. Anything could happen with me," Mr Trump told Axios.

The comments come ahead of a planned meeting on Tuesday with leaders from six Gulf countries, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Mr Trump said he wanted to hear directly from regional allies about the war's next steps before deciding whether to resume major combat operations, for which he would need their backing.

"I want to find out where they are and how they are doing. We have been very protective of them," he said.

China has privately asked Tehran to help rein in Yemen's Houthis after an appeal to Beijing by Saudi Arabia, Reuters has reported quoting three Iranian sources familiar with ​the matter.

Riyadh turned to China for help after the Houthis made rapid advances along the Red Sea coast and around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, moves that have left Saudi oil exports and ‌shipping more exposed, the sources said.

China has publicly called for restraint, dialogue and the restoration of safe navigation, but its private message went further than the public statements, they said.

Beijing wants Iran to use its influence with the Houthis to help prevent the conflict spreading further across energy routes on which China, the world's second-largest economy, depends.