The UN human rights office has called for an investigation into a reported strike on a girls' elementary school in southern Iran that killed over 160 people, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted American forces would not deliberately target civilian structures.
Iranian state media reported the attack on the school in Minab occurred Saturday, the first day of US and Israeli attacks against Iran, marking the deadliest incident in the conflict. The reports could not be independently verified.
UNESCO and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai condemned the incident. Deliberately attacking educational institutions constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law.
Rubio told reporters Monday the Department of Defense would investigate if the strike was American. "The United States would not deliberately target a school," he said, adding it would be "very tragic" if the reports are confirmed.
The Pentagon and US Central Command did not respond to requests for comment, though Central Command previously said it was "looking into" reports of civilian harm.
Israel's UN ambassador Danny Danon noted conflicting reports, including suggestions that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps may have targeted the school.
UN human rights office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani urged a "prompt, impartial and thorough investigation" into the attack, adding that images circulating on social media captured "the essence of the destruction, despair and senselessness and cruelty of this conflict."
High Commissioner Volker Turk called on all parties to exercise restraint and return to negotiations. The office said it lacks sufficient information to determine whether the strike constituted a war crime.
Reuters
