Amnesty International on March 17 called for those responsible for a US strike on an Iranian school to be held accountable.

The Feb. 28 strike on the girls' school in Minab, in southern Iran, killed over 100 children. Amnesty's Evidence Lab conducted an investigation into the strike, analyzing over 30 satellite images and reviewing official statements, independent media reports, and witnesses accounts.

The group found that the school was hit by precision-guided munitions, and additionally uncovered that the US may have relied on outdated intelligence to conduct the strike. This would constitute a violation of international law—specifically the duty to verify that an intended target is a military objective. While the school was initially located adjacent to a military compound of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, satellite images show that the building had been physically separated from the compound by constructed walls and three gated entrances at least since from 2016.

Erika Guervara-Rosas, Amnesty’s senior director of research and advocacy, stated:

This harrowing attack on a school, with classrooms full of children, is a sickening illustration of the catastrophic and entirely predictable price civilians are paying during this armed conflict. Schools must be places of safety and learning for children. Instead, this school in Minab became a site of mass killing. The US authorities could, and should, have known it was a school building. Targeting a protected civilian object, such as a school, is strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law.

The group called for US authorities to launch a public investigation, prosecute those suspected of criminal responsibility, and provide reparations for victims. Both Amnesty and Human Rights Watch have called for the attack to be investigated as a war crime.

From JURIST, March 18. Used with permission. Internal links added.