UN tells US to swiftly finish probe into ‘visceral’ Iran school bombing

Mourners dig graves during the funeral for children killed in a US-Israeli strike on a school in Minab, Iran, on March 3.

Photo: Iranian Press Centre/AFP/Getty Images/TNS The deadly bombing of an Iranian school spurred “visceral horror”, the UN rights chief said Friday, urging Washington to conclude its probe and demanding justice “for the terrible harm done”.

Speaking at the start of an urgent debate in the UN Human Rights Council focused on the February 28 strike on an Iranian junior school in Minab on the first day of the US-Israeli war on Iran, Volker Turk said that “whatever differences countries have, we can all agree they will not be solved by killing schoolchildren”.

The bombing “evoked a visceral horror”, Turk told the UN’s top rights body. “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. “In this case, a reported 168 pupils, teachers, school staff, and their loved ones.” A US Tomahawk cruise missile hit the school due to a targeting mistake, according to the preliminary findings of a US military investigation reported by The New York Times.

In a video address to the UN Human Rights Council on Friday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the school bombing was a “calculated” assault by the US. “The United States’ contradictory remarks aimed at justifying their crime could not, in any manner, elude their responsibility,” he said, describing the attack as “a war crime and a crime against humanity”.

Turk stressed that “the onus is on those who carried out the attack to investigate it promptly, impartially, transparently and thoroughly”. “Senior US officials have said the strike is under investigation,” he said, calling “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.” Friday’s discussion, at the request of Iran, China and Cuba, marked the second urgent debate before the rights council this week, focused on the war in the Middle East.

On Wednesday, a debate requested by Bahrain on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Jordan, considered Iran’s strikes on countries across the Gulf region and their impact on civilians.

Following that debate, the 47-member council approved by consensus a resolution condemning Iran’s “egregious attacks” on its Gulf neighbours, calling for swift “reparation” to all victims of i

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