Iran criticizes US over UN Human Rights Council withdrawal and alleged war crimes

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazim Garibabadi has stated that the United States cannot escape responsibility for its actions by withdrawing from the UN Human Rights Council. His comments follow a report from the UN International Independent Investigation Commission regarding strikes in Iran.

The UN report found reasonable grounds to believe the US committed war crimes through indiscriminate attacks that caused civilian deaths and damage to civilian objects. Specifically, the report cited two air strikes on February 28 in Minab and Lamerd, which resulted in the deaths of at least 178 civilians, including women and children. In Minab, an attack on a girls' primary school reportedly killed 168 people, many of whom were children.

These incidents occurred during the initial hours of a conflict involving US and Israeli strikes on Iran. The US withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council was enacted via presidential decree by Donald Trump in February 2025, following his assertion that certain UN bodies act against US interests.