UN Says Iran Crackdown Amounted To Crimes Against Humanity
By Iran International
September 17, 2026
Iranian security forces committed crimes against humanity in their crackdown on nationwide protests, a UN fact-finding mission said on Thursday, citing mass killings, torture and arbitrary detention.
The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran said its report examined the 2025-2026 protests and found that killings by state security forces took place across all 31 provinces. It described the repression as an unprecedented escalation from previous crackdowns.
At least 221 children were reported killed, some as young as two, while tens of thousands of people were detained, according to the report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council.
Security forces fired at crowds
The mission said security forces positioned themselves on rooftops and other elevated locations and fired assault rifles into crowds.
In Karaj, forces used tear gas to trap demonstrators in narrow alleys before shooting at them, the report said. Protesters suffered severe injuries to the head, chest and eyes from metal shotgun pellets, with some left permanently blind.
Security forces also attacked healthcare facilities, beating and arresting wounded protesters and detaining some healthcare workers, according to the mission. It said the actions deterred injured people from seeking treatment.
Five-month internet shutdown
Iranian authorities imposed a nationwide internet and communications blackout on January 8, at the height of the violence, the mission said.
The shutdown lasted more than five months, which the mission described as the longest nationwide communications shutdown on record, restricting access to information and emergency coordination.
The report said tens of thousands of people were arbitrarily detained and that some faced torture, solitary confinement and denial of access to lawyers. Families were in some cases left without information about detainees' whereabouts, raising concerns of enforced disappearances.
Authorities also delayed or refused to return bodies to some families, demanded payments and pressured relatives to sign statements falsely describing victims as state agents, the mission said.
Executions linked to protests
The mission said Iran also intensified its use of the death penalty against people linked to the protests.
At least 29 men were executed between March and August 2026 following expedited trials, including five who were executed publicly.
More than 70 people, including five women and three boys, remained at imminent risk of execution, it said.
The mission concluded that violations including murder, imprisonment, torture and other inhumane acts amounted to crimes against humanity because they formed part of a widespread and systematic attack against civilians.
US strikes also examined
The report separately found reasonable grounds to believe the United States committed war crimes in two strikes during the conflict with Iran.
It said US Tomahawk missiles struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab, killing more than 150 people, including about 120 children.
A separate US strike in Lamerd dispersed tungsten pellets over a sports complex and nearby residential area, killing 22 civilians, the mission said.
The mission said the attacks amounted to indiscriminate strikes resulting in civilian deaths and damage to civilian objects.
All rights reserved for Volant Media UK Limited
