UN Mission: US May Have Committed War Crimes in Iran, Tehran Accused of Crimes Against Humanity
UN Fact-Finding Mission Report on Iran and US Actions
(Adds U.S. reaction in paragraphs 4 and 5)
By Olivia Le Poidevin
Overview of the Report and Key Findings
GENEVA, Sept 17 (Reuters) - A UN fact-finding mission on Iran said on Thursday it had reasonable grounds to believe the United States was behind two military strikes on a school and sports facility in Iran in February, and that these constituted war crimes.
It also found that Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity during their deadly crackdown on anti-government protests.
The findings in a new report by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, to be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, examined U.S. conduct during the Iran war that began in February and the Iranian government's response to nationwide unrest that began in late December.
US and Iranian Responses
The Pentagon declined to comment on a report conducted by an outside organization.
"Our investigation remains ongoing, and we have nothing to announce at the moment," it said in a statement. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in response to the report that the UN Human Rights Council had "accomplished nothing for human rights," adding that Iran was the only party in the current conflict that had committed war crimes.
The Iranian permanent mission in Geneva did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
U.S. officials have previously said military operations are conducted in accordance with the law of armed conflict, while Iran has consistently rejected allegations of systematic rights violations.
Implications of the UN Mission's Findings
UN Fact-Finding missions are investigative, not judicial bodies, and therefore do not initiate any criminal cases. Their findings, however, can be used in criminal investigations by national courts or international tribunals such as the International Criminal Court. States will discuss the findings of the report when it is presented to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday.
Alleged US War Crimes in Iran
Minab School Strike
MINAB SCHOOL STRIKE
The UN experts said they found reasonable grounds to believe U.S. forces were responsible for an attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in the city of Minab, where more than 150 people were killed, including around 120 schoolchildren, according to Iranian officials.
The attack constituted an indiscriminate attack causing civilian deaths and damage to civilian infrastructure, amounting to a war crime under international law, the mission concluded.
According to the report, the U.S. failure to update information in relation to the school, which was adjacent to an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval complex, in its targeting databases and to confirm the building was a military objective amounted to more than mere negligence.
"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."
US Government Reaction to Minab Strike
In June U.S. President Donald Trump said that "nobody" purposefully attacked a girls' school in Iran in February, citing an investigation into the incident. Reuters first reported that an initial internal U.S. military investigation showed U.S. forces were likely responsible for the fatal strike in Minab in southern Iran.
The Pentagon has since elevated the probe but it has not published any preliminary findings.
UN experts said the school was a clearly identifiable civilian object and found no evidence that it was being used for military purposes.
Strike on Lamerd Sports Centre
The experts reached a similar conclusion over a strike on a sports centre in Lamerd. The report said the attack damaged nearby residential buildings and a school and killed and injured 22 civilians. It concluded that the strike was indiscriminate and therefore constituted a war crime.
U.S. Central Command said in a statement in March that U.S. forces did not launch any strikes into the city of Lamerd on that day.
Crimes Against Humanity by Iranian Authorities
Crackdown on Protests
IRAN ABUSES
The UN mission probe found that the Iranian authorities carried out a widespread and systematic attack against civilians during protests that erupted in late December last year, involving unlawful killings, torture, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and severe restrictions on freedom of expression.
Rights groups say bystanders were among those killed during the biggest crackdown since Shi'ite Muslim clerics took power in the 1979 revolution. Tehran blamed "terrorists and rioters" backed by exiled opponents and foreign foes the U.S. and Israel.
Death Toll and Government Response
The probe said it could not independently verify the death toll, but that it believed the number of dead and injured was likely far higher than official figures which say 3,038 people were killed, and 25,000 people injured.
The government's response to the protests — including violence and killings, cutting off the internet and use of the death penalty — marked a significant escalation from previous patterns of suppressing dissent, the report said.
Reporting Credits
(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin; additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Aurora Ellis)
