A United Nations investigation has concluded that Israel's airstrike on Tehran's Evin prison in June 2025 constituted a war crime, according to a report presented to the UN Human Rights Council on Monday. The attack, part of an air war between Israel and Iran, killed over 70 people, including one child and eight women, according to Iranian authorities.
Sara Hossain, chair of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, stated that the mission found reasonable grounds to believe that Israel committed the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against a civilian object. The report was based on interviews with victims and witnesses, satellite imagery, and other documents.
Israel has disengaged from the UN Human Rights Council and left its seat empty during the presentation. The Israel Defense Forces defended the strike, claiming it was a targeted operation against intelligence activities and was carried out precisely to minimise harm to civilians imprisoned there.
Hossain warned that the current US-Israeli bombing campaign could lead to increased repression in Iran, citing a rise in executions after last year's strikes. She noted that external military action does not provide accountability and risks intensifying domestic repression.
Mai Sato, a UN-appointed rights expert on Iran, expressed concern for detainees, including those arrested during mass protests in January. Families have been unable to contact relatives, and food and medicines are in short supply in prisons.
Iran's ambassador, Ali Bahreini, called for condemnation of the US-Israeli strikes, which he said have killed over 1,300 people in Iran.
