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On the day the US and Israel launched their illegal war on Iran (Feb.28), a Tomahawk missile strike hit the Shajareh Tayyebeh primary school in Minab, in the south of the country. Of the 156 people killed, 120 were children (73 boys and 47 girls). Not surprisingly, the United Nations education agency, UNESCO, condemned the killings as “a grave violation of international law”.
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Although shocking, the killings were by no means an isolated incident. Recent US conflicts are littered with instances of mass civilian casualties. Whereas, for example, the Mosul air strike killed at least 105 civilians in 2017 and the Kunduz hospital air strike killed 42 people in 2015, the Amiriyah air raid shelter bombing in 1991 killed over 400 Iraqi civilians sheltering during Operation Desert Storm. This was, therefore, simply the latest manifestation of a not unfamiliar pattern of conduct by American forces.
Earlier, during the Vietnam War, when US troops intentionally killed 504 civilians in My Lai village on March 16, 1968 (“My Lai massacre”), 173 of the victims were children.
After the Minab killings, anti-Iranian propagandists were mobilized. They shamelessly sought to blame the air strike on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), for which they naturally had no evidence. Their falsehood has since been comprehensively debunked.
Even the US president, Donald Trump, when asked for his reaction, sought to muddy the waters. He claimed that Iran possessed Tomahawk cruise missiles, suggesting it might have been responsible for the attack on the school.
Although the usual (Vietnam War era) American response to civilian deaths at times of conflict is to explain them away as “collateral damage,” the sheer horror of the Minab killings resulted instead in obfuscation and untruths.
However, as the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), the American public broadcaster, pointed out, Iran does not possess Tomahawk missiles (which are produced in the U.S.). Military experts have confirmed that the U.S. only shares its Tomahawks with very close allies (not including Israel). PBS also disclosed that the US Central Command had compiled video evidence showing that on the fatal day the US Navy had launched several Tomahawk strikes on Iran.
Multiple independent investigations, including the most recent by Sky News, confirmed that all the evidence pointed to US responsibility for the deaths.
Although the US, after five months, has failed to announce the outcome of its own investigation (there are fears the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, is trying to suppress it altogether), its responsibility is incontrovertible. However, its investigators are in a bind as their findings will directly contradict Trump’s comments, something people who value their skins are loath to do these days. But the truth cannot be suppressed forever, and if the US is to salvage what is left of its credibility, it will have to acknowledge its culpability at some point and hold those responsible to account.
Trump was probably correct when he said “nobody” attacked the school “on purpose”. In all likelihood, the culprits intended to strike a nearby military target, but fatally miscalculated. However, this in no way absolves them from responsibility for the deaths.
Under US law, the perpetrators of the Minab killings are, at the very least, criminally liable for the offense of involuntary manslaughter, a serious felony. This offense is prosecutable when there are unintentional killings due to recklessness or criminal negligence, as apparently happened at Minab. It must be hoped that the US Judge Advocate General, Bobby L Christine, will open an investigation with a view to bringing prosecutions for involuntary manslaughter, contrary to the US Uniform Code of Military Justice.
After all, six soldiers were court-martialled on murder and other charges by the military authorities for the My Lai massacre (with a further twenty investigated) and those responsible for the Minab slaughter must also face justice.
Charges should be considered not only against those who fired the Tomahawks and selected the target, but also against those who oversaw the bungled operation.
At the same time, Hegseth, if he has any decency, should be considering his own position, given his overall responsibility for military operations. At the very least, he should offer his profound apologies to the families of the dead children and teachers, and ensure they receive appropriate compensation for their losses.
In the meantime, the very least the U.K. should do is to avoid any complicity in Trump’s war of choice. It is not a British war, and should not be facilitated in any way. It was a huge mistake for the new British prime minister, Andy Burnham, just three days after taking office, to permit Trump (on July 23) to deploy a B1 bomber against Iran from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.
The B1 carried two dozen 2,000-pound bombs capable of fulfilling Trump’s threat, in defiance of international law, to destroy Iran’s civilian infrastructure, including bridges, power plants and roads (regardless of civilian casualties).
Although Burnham’s spokesman portrayed his green-lighting of the mission as justifiable because the bombings were “defensive strikes,” this was delusional. There was nothing defensive about allowing a US bomber to drop its massive payload on a largely defenseless country. Not surprisingly, Iran has now threatened to retaliate against British facilities, calling the U.K. a “legitimate target,” which is not a great start to Burnham’s tenure.
Moreover, Trump has threatened to “bomb Iran back to the Stone Ages,” with all the loss of life this would entail. Accordingly, Burnham must ask himself if he really wants the U.K. to aid and abet any such madness. If not, he should immediately end his complicity in Trump’s attacks on Iran (the view reportedly held by the new foreign secretary, Ed Miliband).
The Iran war began with a slaughter of the innocents, and has gone from bad to worse. Iran has sustained appalling casualties, with (according to the BBC) over 1,400 civilians and more than 2,000 military personnel killed. However, its spirit is unbroken, and it continues to hold its own.
Moreover, at least 18 American servicemen have been needlessly sacrificed, with hundreds more reportedly injured.
The war has already cost America US$38 billion, and it is running out of missiles and money (Hegseth has spoken of “critical shortfalls”). This is a war that nobody but Israel wanted, and the sooner Trump cuts his losses, the better it will be for everybody. His hopes of a Nobel Peace Prize lie in tatters, and all he has achieved is the destabilization of the global order.
Although the chances of those responsible for the Minab slaughter ever appearing in court are remote, everybody who believes in the international rule of law must distance themselves from an unjust war. Too many innocents have perished, and their numbers are growing. If Trump will not bring the barbarity to an end, the Western leaders whose acquiescence has emboldened him must find their voices, take a stand and assert their humanity.
Grenville Cross SC is a law professor and criminal justice analyst
