Trending 
A United Nations-mandated investigation has warned that the war in the Middle East could lead to deeper institutionalised repression of citizens in Iran.
The United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran said civilians were trapped between continuing armed conflict and escalating repression that has reached unprecedented levels and may amount to crimes against humanity.
According to the mission, Iran’s worsening human rights crisis “is likely to worsen in the wake of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran and Iran’s retaliatory strikes across the region”.
The investigators said that during the past 11 months, they had observed: “a clear pattern that is directly relevant to what we are seeing today in Iran”.
“The protection of civilians, including detainees, becomes acutely precarious during armed conflict, and in the aftermath, state repression intensifies, particularly where as now, a connectivity and internet shutdown is imposed,” the probe said.
The three-member mission is responsible for collecting and preserving evidence of rights violations in Iran.
The United Nations Human Rights Council established the high-level inquiry in November 2022 following the deadly crackdown on protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini.
On February 28, the United States and Israel launched the first wave of strikes in a conflict that has since seen Iran target locations across several Gulf countries.
“The human rights situation in Iran has been severely exacerbated by the US-Israeli air strikes since February 28,” the report stated.
The mission called for an immediate halt to attacks by all parties to prevent further harm to civilians in Iran and across the wider region.
On Wednesday, the mission submitted its latest report to the council, covering developments from April 2025 to February 18 this year. It concluded that long-standing patterns of state-led repression had not only continued but intensified, especially after a new wave of nationwide protests began on December 28.
“Security forces unleashed extensive lethal force — including with assault rifles and heavy machine guns — leading to a staggering number of deaths and injuries,” the mission said.
During the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June 2025, the report stated that “in relation to the attack on Evin prison compound, the mission finds that Israel committed the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against a civilian object”.
Around 80 people were reported killed in that incident.
The report also concluded that numerous serious rights violations committed by Iranian authorities amounted to crimes against humanity, including murder, imprisonment, torture, sexual violence, gender persecution, enforced disappearance and other inhumane acts.
