New York, United States. A United Nations fact-finding mission investigating rights violations in Iran said U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, as well as Tehran’s retaliatory strikes across the region, violated the UN Charter.
UN Charter concerns
The U.N. Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran said in a statement on Wednesday that the attacks and subsequent retaliation “run counter to the UN Charter.” The UN Charter bans the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.
Strike on girls school
The mission said it was deeply shocked by a strike that hit the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls school in Minab in southern Iran on Saturday, the first day of the U.S. and Israeli attacks. It said most of the victims appeared to have been schoolgirls aged seven to 12.
Earlier on Wednesday, a separate U.N. panel of experts said more than 160 children were killed, citing reports.
Risks to civilians and detainees
The mission said the Iranian population was caught between a large-scale military campaign that may go on for weeks and a government in Tehran with a long record of human rights abuses.
It said tens of thousands of people were detained and faced torture and the death penalty following a brutal crackdown on protests that began on December 28, 2025, in response to Iran’s economic crisis.
The mission said protesters currently detained in prisons could be put at risk from any U.S.-Israeli strikes. It cited a British couple jailed in Iran who said on Tuesday that explosions shook Evin prison where they are being held and caused damage to their wing as the conflict intensified.
Officials killed in airstrikes
The mission said the killing of dozens of Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the U.S.-Israeli airstrikes was not an acceptable means to deliver justice under international law.
How should the international community address civilian and detainee risks amid escalating attacks and retaliation?
