View noticesUN mission finds grounds to believe US committed war crimes
A United Nations fact-finding mission has said there are reasonable grounds to believe the United States committed war crimes during the Iran war, lending weight to claims Tehran has made along similar lines.
The UN's Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran said on Thursday there was evidence to believe US forces had committed the war crime of launching indiscriminate attacks resulting in loss of civilian life, injury or damage to civilian objects, Lim Hui Jie and Sam Meredith report for CNBC Africa.
The mission pointed to a Tomahawk missile strike on a primary school in the city of Minab that killed more than 150 people, as well as a separate strike using missiles against what it described as a clearly identifiable sports complex and residential area, killing 22 civilians.
According to the report, the school was the intended target rather than the result of an errant strike or collateral damage from an attack on an adjacent Revolutionary Guard compound, and investigators said they found no evidence it had been used for military purposes. The mission separately found Iran responsible for human rights violations and crimes against humanity.
A State Department official said Washington did not consider the report credible, accusing the UN council of pushing anti-American rhetoric and antisemitism and of appeasing repressive regimes; the Pentagon had not responded to a request for comment at the time of CNBC's report.
The Associated Press reported that the White House had also rejected the findings, with spokesperson Anna Kelly saying Iran was the only party in the conflict to have committed war crimes. Washington withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council in February 2025 under an executive order from President Donald Trump, who argued that some UN bodies, including the council, were acting against US interests.
Separately, hopes are rising that Middle East negotiations could resume, with an MS NOW report citing officials who said a meeting between Gulf Arab nations, the US and Iran could take place around next week's UN General Assembly.
The US has approved travel for Iran's delegation to attend the Assembly, though a State Department spokesperson said it would face travel restrictions, including a ban on purchasing luxury goods. The Associated Press reported that Tehran's delegation is expected to include President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.