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// DOSSIER — white-house-rejects-un-report-us-war-crimes
White House Rejects UN Report Alleging US War Crimes in Iran Airstrikes
REL_TIME: 19 Sep 2026 22:12Z · LANG: EN
The White House has strongly dismissed a report from the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran that found reasonable grounds to believe US forces committed war crimes during strikes on February 28, 2026. The strikes, conducted under Operation Epic Fury, targeted the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab and a sports complex in Lamerd, killing at least 178 civilians. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly described the UN Human Rights Council as spouting unserious nonsense and asserted that only Iran has committed war crimes. The report also found that Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity during crackdowns on anti-government protests.
// Background
The airstrikes occurred during the opening salvo of the US-Iran war on February 28, 2026, as part of Operation Epic Fury. President Trump previously withdrew the US from the UN Human Rights Council in February 2025 citing alleged antisemitism. Internal investigations and media reports revealed that the Minab school had been separated from an adjacent IRGC base by a fence since 2016, but military planners used outdated intelligence that failed to verify the school had become a distinct civilian target.
// Key Developments
- A UN fact-finding mission reported reasonable grounds that the US committed war crimes through indiscriminate attacks on civilian sites in Minab and Lamerd on February 28, 2026.
- The strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab killed over 150 people, including roughly 120 children, while a strike in Lamerd killed 22 civilians.
- White House spokesperson Anna Kelly rejected the report, asserting that only the Iranian regime has committed war crimes in the conflict.
- Investigations indicate the US military likely struck the Minab school due to outdated intelligence confusing it with an adjacent IRGC naval base compound.
- The UN mission also accused Iranian authorities of crimes against humanity over crackdowns on anti-government demonstrators involving killings, torture, and arbitrary detentions.
// Timeline
-
President Donald Trump formally withdraws the United States from the UN Human Rights Council.
-
Iranian authorities launch a brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters, later characterized by the UN as crimes against humanity.
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US strikes hit the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab and a sports complex in Lamerd, killing at least 178 civilians.
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Preliminary US internal findings disclose that outdated intelligence from the Defense Intelligence Agency contributed to striking the school.
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Memorial graves of victims and children killed in the Minab school strike are pictured in Hormozgan province.
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The UN Fact-Finding Mission releases its report alleging US war crimes; the White House strongly rejects the findings.
// Perspectives
[White House & US Administration]
Completely rejects the UN report and denies credibility to the UN Human Rights Council, arguing that only the Iranian regime has committed war crimes.
[UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran]
Asserts there are reasonable grounds that US forces committed war crimes via indiscriminate strikes causing civilian deaths, while also finding Iranian authorities guilty of crimes against humanity.
[US Department of Defense]
Declined to comment on the findings while noting that internal investigations remain ongoing.
[Iranian Authorities]
Reported over 150 civilian deaths, including 120 children, from the Minab school strike and refused full access or responses to most UN information requests.
// Quotes
“The UN Human Rights Council has accomplished nothing for human rights while spouting unserious nonsense for decades.”
“The only party in this conflict that has committed war crimes is the Iranian regime, which has murdered thousands of its own people, killed Americans overseas, executed acts of terrorism in the Strait of Hormuz, and launched indiscriminate attacks against its neighbors in the region.”
“Following the United States and Israeli attacks on 28 February, the Mission found reasonable grounds to believe the United States committed the war crime of launching indiscriminate attacks resulting in the loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects.”
“No information indicates that the school was used for military purposes at the time. The US failed in its obligation to do everything feasible to verify that it was a military objective.”
