The Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Iran urged all parties to cease hostilities after credible reports indicated that US strikes hit a residential home on 30 July and a wedding celebration on 1 September, killing and injuring families, including women and children from marginalised minority communities. The mission warned that failure to comply strictly with international law may give rise to international responsibility, including for war crimes.
Civilian deaths have been recorded since the first days of the US-Israeli attacks in February, including strikes on a school that killed more than 160 children. Although the United States has insisted that its military was not targeting civilians, mission member Max du Plessis said repeated airstrikes causing civilian casualties raised serious questions about whether all necessary precautions were being taken to avoid civilian deaths.
Sara Hossain, chair of the Human Rights Council-appointed mission, described the strikes as another reminder of the human cost of the conflict between the United States and Israel and Iran. The investigators called for full and unfettered access for independent human rights monitors, journalists and investigators to preserve evidence for accountability, and urged Member States to pursue immediate diplomatic action, de-escalation and credible, good-faith dialogue. The council established the mission in 2022 to investigate alleged violations in Iran related to protests and extended it for two years on 23 January 2026.
In Yemen, at least 80,000 people were displaced by escalating fighting in recent days, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, with many forced to flee for a second or third time. A later update from the UN emergency relief agency, OCHA, put displacement since the start of September at no fewer than 18,000 households, or 125,000 people.
Fighting between the Saudi-backed authorities and the Iran-backed Houthi militia has intensified while millions of people already require urgent assistance. Media reports indicated that Houthi fighters had seized several Red Sea islands and a crucial Yemeni port city, expanding their control around the Bab al-Mandab Strait, where they have been attacking Saudi shipping.
As of 12 September, humanitarian operations had delivered aid to thousands of households, including food and shelter, but OCHA said supplies were critically low and funding was insufficient. Insecurity has severely constrained humanitarian access and movement, suspending operations in several locations on Yemen’s west coast and leaving key roads impassable or restricted. Between 1 September and Monday, the UN human rights office verified 40 civilian casualties in Yemen: eight people killed and 32 injured. Women and children accounted for half of those killed and more than half of those injured.