UN mission finds grounds to believe US committed war crimes in Iran

A UN fact-finding mission on Iran has said it had reasonable grounds to believe the United States was behind two military strikes on a school and sports facility in Iran in February, and that these constituted war crimes.

The findings in a new report by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, to be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, examined the US’s conduct during the Iran war that began in February and the Iranian government’s response to nationwide unrest that began in late December.

The UN experts said they found reasonable grounds to believe US forces were responsible for an attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in the city of Minab, where more than 150 people were killed, including around 120 schoolchildren.

UN experts said the school was a clearly identifiable civilian object and found no evidence that it was being used for military purposes.

The experts reached a similar conclusion over a strike on a sports centre in Lamerd.

They also found that Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity during their deadly crackdown on anti-government protests.

Iran expels Swedish diplomat

Iran has asked a Swedish diplomat to leave the country in retaliation for a similar move from Sweden a day earlier, Iran’s Foreign Ministry says, describing the Swedish action as “unjustified”.

Sweden’s foreign ministry said it had summoned Iran’s ambassador and asked an official at the Iranian embassy in Stockholm to leave the country, citing activity incompatible with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

Iran’s foreign ministry said it had also summoned the Swedish ambassador in Tehran and protested his country’s policies towards Iran “especially the offensive rhetoric about Iran and the hosting of anti-Iranian terrorist elements and groups”.

Houthis say Saudi strikes targeted telecom towers

Saudi strikes in Yemen has killed one person and targeted three telecommunications towers, citing Houthi media.

“Saudi enemy warplanes targeted three telecommunications towers” in Taiz province, while one civilian was killed and another injured in strikes on the town of Abs, Almasirah television says.

South Korea yet to decide on Hormuz

South Korea has not decided whether to deploy military forces to the Strait of Hormuz, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said, as Seoul weighs its response to the ongoing regional crisis.
Cho made the remarks while speaking to reporters before departing for Washington, where he is due to hold talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.–Agencies