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 the Shajareh Tayyebeh primary school in Minab, Iran, which occurred on the first day of the war last month. At an urgent UN Human Rights Council debate, he stated that the bombing "evoked a visceral horror" and that "there must be justice for the terrible harm done".
Iranian officials have reported that the attack on the school consisted of two missile strikes in quick succession, killing at least 168 people, including about 110 children. US media have indicated that American military investigators believe US forces were likely responsible for hitting the school unintentionally. If a US role is confirmed, this would amount to one of the worst single cases of civilian casualties in decades of US conflicts in the Middle East, highlighting the severe human cost of the ongoing war.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a video address to the UN meeting in Geneva, alleged that the bombing was a "deliberate and intentional" attack by the US regime. He asserted, "This atrocity cannot be justified, cannot be concealed, and must not be met with silence and indifference." Additionally, Democrats in the US Senate have written to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanding answers about the strike, questioning whether outdated target analysis or faulty rules of engagement contributed to the incident.
According to reports from The New York Times, officers at US Central Command (Centcom) created the target coordinates for the strike using outdated data provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency.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 had operated as a school since at least 2018. Expert video analysis has confirmed the use of a Tomahawk missile—a US cruise missile not possessed by Israel or Iran—indicating US involvement.
On March 17, a UN fact-finding mission opened its own investigation into the strike. Türk emphasized that "the onus is on those who carried out the attack to investigate it promptly, impartially, transparently, and thoroughly." The Pentagon has stated it will respond to congressional correspondence, while Hegseth previously claimed the US does not target civilians and is investigating the matter, though skepticism remains about the transparency and accountability of the US-led inquiry.
Source: www.bbc.com