The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has called on the United States to conclude its investigation and publish findings into a deadly strike on an Iranian primary school that occurred on the first day of the war last month. Speaking at an urgent UN Human Rights Council debate in Geneva, Türk said the bombing “evoked a visceral horror”, adding that “there must be justice for the terrible harm done”.
The attack on Shajareh Tayyebeh school involved two missile strikes in quick succession that killed at least 168 people, including about 110 children, according to Iranian officials. US media have reported that American military investigators believe US forces were likely responsible for hitting the school unintentionally.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth previously stated the matter was under investigation. If a US role is confirmed, the strike would amount to one of the worst single cases of civilian casualties in decades of US conflicts in the Middle East. Türk remarked: “The images of bombed-out classrooms and grieving parents showed clearly who pays the highest price for war: civilians with no power in the decisions that led to conflict.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a video address to the UN meeting in Geneva, labeled the bombing a “deliberate and intentional” attack by the US. He asserted: “This atrocity cannot be justified, cannot be concealed, and must not be met with silence and indifference.” Earlier this month, Democrats in the US Senate wrote to Hegseth demanding answers about the strike.
The New York Times, citing individuals briefed on the US investigation, reported that officers at US Central Command (Centcom) created the target coordinates for the strike using outdated data provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency. Reuters reported that satellite imagery from mid-2015 showed the school building was walled off from the rest of the base and appeared to have operated as a school since at least 2018, when painted murals were visible on the walls.
Source: www.bbc.com