WASHINGTON: The White House has rejected a United Nations human rights report that found “reasonable grounds” to believe the United States committed war crimes in two military strikes in Iran on Feb. 28, including an attack on a school in the southern city of Minab.
The report, issued by the UN Human Rights Council, examined the circumstances surrounding the strikes and concluded that there were reasonable grounds to believe violations of international humanitarian law had occurred.
The White House dismissed the findings. Spokeswoman Anna Kelly criticised the UN Human Rights Council, saying it had “accomplished nothing for human rights while spouting unserious nonsense for decades,” according to remarks reported by The Washington Post.
The allegations center in part on a strike that struck a school in Minab. The UN report’s findings could add to international scrutiny of the U.S. military campaign in Iran and raise further questions about the conduct of hostilities and the protection of civilians under international law.
The White House has rejected the report’s conclusions, setting up a sharp dispute between the U.S. administration and the UN’s human rights body over the legality of the strikes.
The findings come as international attention remains focused on civilian casualties and the obligations of parties engaged in the conflict under international humanitarian law.
