UN demands ‘justice’ after deadly Iran school strike

The UN demanded “justice” on Friday after a deadly US strike on an Iranian school, as the world body’s rights chief called for Washington to conclude its investigation into an attack that has “evoked a visceral horror.”

Speaking at an urgent session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Volker Türk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said the February 28 bombing of an elementary school in the southern Iranian city of Minab—which struck on the first day of the wider Middle East war—represented a stark violation of the most basic protections for civilians.

“Whatever differences countries have, we can all agree they will not be solved by killing schoolchildren,” Türk told the council’s 47 member states.

The strike, carried out by a US Tomahawk cruise missile, hit the school due to a targeting mistake, according to preliminary findings from a US military investigation reported by The New York Times. Iranian authorities say the attack killed 168 pupils, teachers, school staff and others who were in the vicinity.

Türk described the images of the aftermath as deeply harrowing. “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,” he said.

He stressed that “the onus is on those who carried out the attack to investigate it promptly, impartially, transparently and thoroughly.” While acknowledging that senior US officials had said the strike was under investigation, Türk called “for that process to be concluded as soon as possible, and for its findings to be made public.”

“There must be justice for the terrible harm done,” he added.

Friday’s debate—requested by Iran, China and Cuba—marked the second urgent session held by the rights council this week on the conflict. On Wednesday, the council convened at the request of Bahrain on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council, along with Jordan, to address Iranian strikes on countries across the Gulf region and their impact on civilians. Following that session, the 47-member body approved by consensus a resolution condemning Iran’s “egregious attacks” on its Gulf neighbors and calling for swift “reparation” to all victims.

No draft resolution was tabled for a vote during Friday’s debate, which was scheduled to last approximately two hours. Diplomats said the session was intended to provide a forum for accountability and to underscore the need for independent investigations into civilian casualties amid the widening regional conflict.

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