UN urges investigation into 'horrific' attack on Iran school

US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz attends a United Nations Security Council meeting, after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, at UN headquarters in New York City, US Feb 28, 2026. REUTERS

The UN human rights office urged the "forces" behind an attack on a girls' school in Iran to investigate and share insights into the "horrific" incident, without naming them.

"The High Commissioner (Volker Turk) calls for 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," UN human rights office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told a Geneva press briefing, describing the incident as "horrific".

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US forces "would not deliberately target a school", after Iranian state media reported over 160 were killed on the first day of the US and Israeli attacks on Iran.