United States Withdraws From UN Human Rights Council After UN Mission Cites War Crimes in Iran

The United States formally withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council after a UN fact-finding mission said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe U.S. forces committed war crimes in Iran, including attacks on a school in Minab and a sports complex in Lamerd.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said in a post on X that “the United States cannot escape responsibility by withdrawing from the Human Rights Council.”

Anadolu Ajansi

Gharibabadi pointed to the UN mission’s findings that the U.S. carried out two separate airstrikes resulting in at least 178 civilian deaths, including women and children, and he said history would not forget the “blood of 168 children” at a school in Minab and a “slaughterhouse for civilians” in Lamard.

The UN-backed investigators said the school was a clearly identifiable civilian facility and found no evidence it was being used for military purposes at the time of the attack, while the second incident involved a strike on a sports complex and nearby residential area in Lamerd.

The U.S. State Department accused the council of promoting “anti-American rhetoric” and adopting an overly accommodating approach toward governments it accused of repressing their populations, as the council held its 63rd regular session in Geneva from September 7 through October 7.

The UN mission described “reasonable grounds” linking U.S. forces to two attacks in Iran, including a Tomahawk missile strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab that killed more than 160 people, including around 120 children.

In Iran’s account, Gharibabadi said “A school in Minab was stained with the blood of 168 children,” while the UN mission’s report also said the school was clearly identifiable and showed school signs, child-oriented murals, and playground areas.

Análisis Urbano

For Lamerd, the UN mission said a U.S. strike on a sports complex and nearby residential area dispersed tungsten pellets across the area, killing 22 civilians and damaging residential buildings and a sports complex.

The UN mission concluded the Lamerd attack was indiscriminate and constituted a war crime, while the U.S. Central Command separately denied that American forces conducted a strike in Lamard on the date examined by the mission.

WANA News Agency said the UN fact-finding mission reported “reasonable grounds” to believe U.S. forces were responsible for two attacks in Iran, including a strike on Shajareh Tayyebeh School in Minab and a sports complex in Lamerd, which could amount to war crimes.

Iranian officials framed the withdrawal as an attempt to avoid scrutiny, with Gharibabadi writing that “Now everyone agrees that the Minab and Lamard incidents were not operational mistakes, but clear war crimes.”

The U.S. response, as described by Jazeera’s Reuters-cited account in بوابة الوسط, was that the State Department said the council promotes a “hostile discourse toward America” and “coddles repressive regimes,” while the UN mission said the findings focused on two airstrikes in February that killed at least 178 civilians, including children and women.

The UN mission’s conclusions also extended beyond the U.S. strikes, accusing Iranian authorities of “grave violations” during the suppression of anti-government protests, including killings, torture, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and restrictions on freedom of expression.

The report said it could not independently verify the toll but estimated that the number of dead and injured is much higher than official figures of 3,038 dead and 25,000 injured, and it described the mission’s obstacles as “conflict, internet restrictions, and lack of full cooperation.”

The mission urged the United States and Iran to end the documented violations and provide reparations to the victims, and it said its conclusions would be presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council without constituting a judicial ruling or determining individual criminal responsibility.