A US military strike on a school and sports facility in Iran in February 2026 amounts to a war crime, according to a UN fact-finding mission. A UN report states that the US carried out an “indiscriminate attack” on an Iranian school and sports facility, violating international humanitarian law and resulting in civilian casualties.
The independent UN International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran disclosed this information in a new report on Thursday. The report is set to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Investigators stated there are reasonable grounds to believe US forces were involved in the attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in the Iranian city of Minab in February. According to Iranian officials, more than 150 people were killed in the attack, including approximately 120 schoolchildren. The UN investigation clearly identified the school as a civilian facility and found no evidence that it was being used for military purposes.
An ongoing investigation by the US military itself had previously revealed that the US was responsible for the deadly missile strike on the Iranian primary school for girls. This disproved earlier claims by President Donald Trump, who had instead blamed Iran for the incident. According to US officials and individuals familiar with the preliminary investigation findings, the US was responsible for the Tomahawk missile strike on the girls’ primary school in Iran.
Preliminary investigation findings indicate that the attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School building in Minab, southern Iran, on February 28 was a targeting error by the US military. The incident occurred during an attack on an Iranian base located adjacent to the school building.
Notably, the school building had previously been part of that base. Sources familiar with the investigation stated that US Central Command officials determined the target location using outdated information provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency. The attack on a school filled with children is poised to be recorded as one of the most horrific military blunders of recent decades. According to Iranian officials, at least 175 people were killed in this attack, almost all of whom were children.
The report states that the United States carried out the strike based on information indicating the presence of a senior Iranian military commander at the location. However, the intelligence was not verified prior to the attack. Investigators concluded that the failure to update target-related information and to confirm whether the building was a military facility amounted to more than mere negligence.
The UN mission also investigated an attack on a sports center in the Iranian city of Lamard. That strike damaged nearby residential buildings and a school, resulting in the death or injury of 22 civilians. Investigators characterized the attack as indiscriminate and concluded that it amounted to a war crime.
