UN Urges Investigation Into Deadly US-Israeli Strike on Girls School in Iran

The United Nations human rights chief has called for a prompt investigation into a deadly strike on a girls’ school in southern Iran during the opening phase of U.S.-Israeli attacks, as civilian casualties intensify scrutiny of the conflict’s conduct.

The UN human rights office said Tuesday that the circumstances surrounding the attack must be investigated thoroughly and transparently.

Speaking at a Geneva briefing, spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said High Commissioner Volker Turk had requested a “prompt, impartial and thorough investigation into the circumstances of the attack.”

“The onus is on the forces that carried out the attack to investigate it,” she said, adding that the findings should be made public and victims provided with accountability and redress.

The strike occurred on Saturday, the first day of U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran. Iranian officials say the bombing hit a primary school in southern Iran and killed more than 160 girls.

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, raised the incident with Turk in a letter dated March 1, calling the attack “unjustifiable” and “criminal.”

Shamdasani said the images circulating after the attack reflected “the destruction, despair and senselessness and cruelty of this conflict.”

She emphasized that all military operations must comply with the principles of distinction and proportionality under international humanitarian law.

The United Nations has not yet determined whether the strike amounts to a war crime. Shamdasani said Turk’s office currently lacks sufficient information to reach that legal conclusion.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that U.S. forces “would not deliberately target a school,” while Israel has said it is investigating the incident.

The UN also warned that the conflict is spreading across the region. Shamdasani said Turk was “deeply shocked by the impacts of the widespread hostilities on civilians and civilian infrastructure” following the outbreak of fighting Saturday.

The situation has expanded beyond Iran to include retaliatory strikes across the region and the entry of Hezbollah into the conflict. The UN human rights office urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint and return to negotiations, saying diplomacy remains the only path to ending the violence.

“We urge both parties to immediately end this major escalation in violence and to return to the agreed ceasefire,” Shamdasani added in reference to escalating Israel-Hezbollah exchanges.

The strike has also drawn reactions from political leaders and officials abroad. California Governor Gavin Newsom questioned the incident, saying: “We have to reconcile why our bombs - or Israeli bombs - were used to kill children, young girls at a school.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the attack in stark terms, saying: “These are graves being dug for more than 160 innocent young girls who were killed in the US-Israeli bombing of a primary school. Their bodies were torn to shreds.”

He added: “This is how ‘rescue’ promised by Mr. Trump looks in reality.”

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said the conflict is placing additional pressure on medical infrastructure.

WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said hospitals and emergency posts in Iran have been damaged and one paramedic injured, warning that the regional escalation is disrupting care delivery, supply chains and humanitarian access.