DOMINANT ANGLE
Berlin first notes the legal qualification that the UN investigation mission applies to both camps: war crimes for the US strikes on the schools of Minab and Lamerd, crimes against humanity for the Iranian repression of protests.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
The UN mission believes the failure to update US targeting bases on the Minab school goes beyond simple negligence (Tagesschau, DW).
- 02
The toll from the strike on Shajareh Tayyebeh school varies by source: 157 dead according to independent reports, over 150 according to the mission, including around 120 schoolchildren, 168 girls according to Tehran.
- 03
The mission denounces crimes against humanity in the Iranian crackdown: at least 221 children killed and an official toll of 3,038 dead deemed largely underreported.
ANALYSIS
Berlin, Friday, September 18, 2026. The public channel Tagesschau and the international service DW are opening their editions with the report that the International Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, mandated by the Human Rights Council, is to present on Monday in Geneva. The two media outlets are emphasizing the legal vocabulary used by the investigators: there are "reasonable grounds" to believe that American forces committed the war crime of indiscriminate attacks during two strikes in February, against the Shajareh Tayyebeh primary school in Minab and against a sports complex in Lamerd.
Regarding Minab, the German press is detailing the discrepancy in the tolls: the mission cites independent reports stating 157 deaths, and mentions elsewhere "more than 150" victims, including around 120 schoolchildren, while Tehran claims 168 girls were killed. The school, which was hit by Tomahawk cruise missiles, was located near a naval base of the Revolutionary Guards, according to the report. The investigators judge that the failure to update American targeting databases "goes beyond simple negligence": the United States would have directed the strike against the school building while being aware of the significant risk of hitting a civilian object, accepting it with recklessness. Tagesschau recalls that Donald Trump had stated in June, based on an American military investigation, that no one had deliberately targeted a girls' school; the report, on the contrary, mentions outdated data from the military intelligence agency DIA.
In Lamerd, 22 civilians were killed in a residential neighborhood and a sports complex; international media had reported the use of a new type of ammunition dispersing tungsten shrapnel in the air.
The same report condemns Tehran: crimes against humanity in the repression of protests that began at the end of December, killings in the 31 provinces, at least 221 children killed, attacks against medical facilities. The official toll of 3,038 deaths is considered largely underestimated by the mission; Western diplomats mentioned are talking about nearly 20,000 victims. Tehran attributes the unrest to "terrorists and insurgents" supported by Washington and Israel, and rejects the accusations. The mission is calling on the 47 member states of the Council, none of which include the three countries involved, to work towards the end of the war and to guarantee asylum for Iranians.
