U.S. May Have Committed War Crimes in Iran, U.N. Report Says

Six months after an alleged U.S. strike hit a school, families visit the graves of victims in Minab, Hormozgan province, Iran, on September 11, 2026. —Fatemeh Bahrami—Anadolu/Getty Images The U.S. may have committed war crimes when its strikes allegedly hit an elementary school and a sports facility in Iran, according to a United Nations report publicly released on Thursday.

The U.N.’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran said it found “reasonable grounds to believe that the United States committed a war crime by launching indiscriminate attacks that killed or injured civilians or damaged civilian objects.” The U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb.

28, triggering a war that has stretched into its seventh month .

Among those attacks, the mission identified U.S.

Tomahawk missile strikes that hit Tree of Tayyiba Elementary School in Minab, killing more than 150 people , including 120 children, and an alleged U.S. missile strike that dispersed tens of thousands of tungsten pellets over a sports complex and residential area in Lamerd, killing 22 civilians. (The U.S. denied carrying out any strike within the vicinity of Lamerd on Feb.

28.) Both civilian facilities were “clearly identifiable,” the report said.

“The U.S.’s failure to update information in relation to the school in its targeting databases and to verify that the building was a military objective before launching the attack went beyond mere negligence,” the report said.

“Rather, the U.S. directed the strikes at the building of the school while being aware of a substantial risk of striking a civilian object and acting recklessly as regards the possibility that this would happen.” The mission is expected to present its findings, which also conclude that Iranian authorities likely committed crimes against humanity during their deadly crackdown on protesters in December and January, to the U.N.

Human Rights Council on Monday.

“People in Iran are caught between intensified repression and violence by their government and renewed armed conflict and insecurity resulting from the hostilities between Iran and the U.S and Israel,” the report said.

The war has produced a significant civilian toll, with at least 2,100 people killed across the region by late April.

In Iran, human rights groups estimate that more than 1,700 civilians were killed by the end of April, including more than 1,000 civilians who were killed in the first five days of the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign.

That includes hundreds of women and children, dozens of health care workers, and at least nine journalists.

Iranian authorities reported another 18 deaths from U.S. strikes on Sept.