{"slug":"iran-war-lamerd-sports-hall-strike","title":"Lamerd Sports Hall Strike: US Airburst Missiles Hit a Sports Centre, School and Homes in Southern Iran, Killing At Least 21 (February 2026)","date":"2026-02-28","lastUpdated":"2026-10-04","description":"On the first day of the US–Israeli war on Iran, 28 February 2026, airburst missiles exploded over the Shahid Naimi sports centre in Lamerd, Fars Province, and over an adjacent residential neighbourhood and elementary school. Airwars counts at least 21 civilians killed, including at least seven children; a local official put the toll at 22. The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran found reasonable grounds to believe the US carried out the strike with Precision Strike Missiles, a weapon only the US possesses among the parties, and that the strike amounts to the war crime of launching an indiscriminate attack, a finding made under customary law on a recklessness standard. US Central Command denied responsibility and attributed the damage to an Iranian missile.","summary":"Precision Strike Missiles, which burst above their target and scatter about 180,000 tungsten pellets, hit a sports hall, a school and homes in Lamerd on 28 February 2026, killing at least 21 civilians. A UN fact-finding mission found reasonable grounds that the US was responsible and that the strike was an indiscriminate attack amounting to a war crime under customary law, applying a recklessness standard. The US denies responsibility.","category":"foreign-policy","severity":"critical","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session63/a-hrc-63-61-aev.pdf","title":"Report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran (A/HRC/63/61), advance edited version, 21 September 2026","publisher":"UN Human Rights Council"},{"url":"https://airwars.org/prsm-lamerd-iran","title":"New U.S. munition has damage radius of at least 170 metres, Airwars finds","publisher":"Airwars"},{"url":"https://breakingdefense.com/2026/03/centcom-confirms-first-combat-use-of-prsm-in-iran/","title":"US military uses PrSM for first time in combat, says CENTCOM","publisher":"Breaking Defense"},{"url":"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/middle-east/2026/03/31/new-us-missile-hit-iranian-sports-hall-and-school-analysis-shows/","title":"How an untested new US missile hit Iranian sports hall and primary school","publisher":"The Irish Times (The New York Times)"},{"url":"https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-used-new-ballistic-missile-strike-hit-iran-sports-hall-teens","title":"US used new ballistic missile in strike that killed teens in Iran sports hall: Report","publisher":"Middle East Eye"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["Iran war","civilian casualties","children","Precision Strike Missile","indiscriminate attack","Lamerd","Fars","UN fact-finding mission","war crime"],"relatedEntries":["iran-war-minab-school-strike","iran-war-crime-of-aggression","iran-war-sirik-wedding-strike","dismantlement-civilian-harm-mitigation","pentagon-ig-civilian-harm-dismantlement"],"timeline":[{"date":"2026-02-28","title":"Airburst missiles hit Lamerd sports centre, school and homes","summary":"On the first day of US and Israeli strikes on Iran, missiles explode above a residential neighbourhood and then above the Shahid Naimi sports hall in Lamerd, Fars Province. At least 21 civilians are killed, including at least seven children (UN Mission; Airwars)."},{"date":"2026-03-04","title":"CENTCOM confirms first combat use of the PrSM","summary":"Central Command says long-range Precision Strike Missiles were 'used in combat during Operation Epic Fury' for the first time (Breaking Defense). The statement does not mention Lamerd."},{"date":"2026-03-29","title":"New York Times identifies the munition","summary":"Visual analysis by The New York Times identifies the munition as a PrSM and finds the hall and school walled off from the neighbouring Revolutionary Guard compound for at least 15 years (Irish Times republication; UN Mission, para 107)."},{"date":"2026-03-31","title":"CENTCOM denies responsibility","summary":"CENTCOM denies responsibility for the strike on the sports centre and school and says the munition in the footage was more consistent with an Iranian Hoveyzeh cruise missile (UN Mission, para 114)."},{"date":"2026-06-16","title":"UN Mission asks the US for information","summary":"The Fact-Finding Mission asks the US government for information on the Lamerd strike and, on 24 June, for meetings with US officials. No reply had been received when the report was finalised (A/HRC/63/61, para 115)."},{"date":"2026-08-31","title":"Airwars: PrSM damage radius at least 170 metres","summary":"Airwars publishes its analysis of the three Lamerd strikes, naming victims and finding a damage radius more than three times that shown in the manufacturer's promotional material."},{"date":"2026-09-21","title":"UN Mission finds a war crime at reasonable grounds","summary":"Report A/HRC/63/61 finds reasonable grounds to believe the US carried out the strike and that it 'amounts to the war crime of launching an indiscriminate attack resulting in loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects' (paras 116, 127–128)."}],"location":{"name":"Lamerd, Fars Province, Iran","lat":27.34,"lng":53.18},"custom":{"era":"second-term","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"potential","internationalLaw":[{"statute":"Customary international humanitarian law (ICRC study)","article":"Rules 1, 11 and 12","provision":"Distinction; prohibition of indiscriminate attacks, including attacks by means whose effects cannot be limited as IHL requires"},{"statute":"Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions","article":"Articles 51(4)–(5) and 57","provision":"Prohibition of indiscriminate attacks; precautions in attack. The US signed but has not ratified AP I; it binds the US to the extent it reflects customary law."},{"statute":"Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court","article":"Article 8(2)(b)(i) and (iv)","provision":"Intentionally directing attacks against civilians; launching an attack knowing it will cause clearly excessive incidental civilian harm. The US and Iran are not States Parties."},{"statute":"Convention on the Rights of the Child","article":"Article 38","provision":"Protection of children affected by armed conflict (the US has signed but not ratified the Convention; it is party to the Optional Protocol on children in armed conflict)"}],"iccRelevance":true,"civilianCasualties":21,"victims":"At least 21 civilians killed according to Airwars, including at least seven children and two women; a Lamerd County official gave 22 (10 women, 12 men), including two schoolgirls, two schoolboys and a 2-year-old girl playing outside her home. Iran's official news agency said 16 of the dead were in the residential neighbourhood. Local officials reported more than 100 injured; Airwars reports up to 170. Victims named by Airwars include Masoumeh Monfared, Abedin Gharibdoos, Avina Barzegar (2), Ilya Khatami (12), Abdul Mosavar Rahmani, Mahmoud Najafi, Helma Ahmadizadeh and Elham Zaeri.","perpetrators":"US forces under US Central Command, per the UN Fact-Finding Mission's attribution (the US denies responsibility); the specific unit and targeting chain have not been identified. President Donald Trump as commander-in-chief and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth bear command responsibility for the campaign.","structuredVictims":[{"group":"Athletes, schoolchildren and residents of Lamerd","nationality":"Iranian","status":"killed (Airwars minimum; 22 per local officials), including at least seven children; 100–170 injured","count":21}],"structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"US Central Command","role":"Found by the UN Fact-Finding Mission, at reasonable grounds, to have carried out the strike with Precision Strike Missiles; denies responsibility","institution":"Department of Defense"},{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"Commander-in-chief; ordered the war on Iran","institution":"White House"}],"keyPoints":["At about 17:10 local time on 28 February 2026 (UN Mission; Airwars times the three impacts at 17:37–17:38), airburst missiles detonated above the Shahid Haj Khalil Naimi sports complex in Lamerd, the adjacent Isar residential neighbourhood and an elementary school (UN A/HRC/63/61, paras 99–106; Airwars).","Airwars counts at least 21 civilians killed, including at least seven children and two women, and up to 170 injured. It names victims including Avina Barzegar, aged 2, and Ilya Khatami, aged 12. A Lamerd County official told Iranian media 22 were killed (10 women, 12 men) (UN Mission, para 111).","The sports hall was being used by a girls' volleyball team when it was struck, according to Iran's UN representative (Middle East Eye). The New York Times reported that a Revolutionary Guard compound lies directly next to the hall, that it was not known whether the compound was struck, and that archival imagery shows the hall and school walled off from it for at least 15 years (Irish Times, republishing the NYT).","On 4 March 2026 CENTCOM announced the first combat use of the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) in Iran (Breaking Defense). The UN Mission found reasonable grounds that PrSMs were used at Lamerd and that the US is the only party to the conflict that has them.","Airwars found that one PrSM had a damage radius of at least 170 metres, against about 50 metres implied by Lockheed Martin's promotional video. Civilians were killed at least 50 metres from the impact point.","On 31 March 2026 CENTCOM denied responsibility and said the munition in the footage matched an Iranian Hoveyzeh cruise missile. Weapons experts rejected that, and the UN Mission found the US responsible (A/HRC/63/61, paras 114–116).","The Mission found that, 'irrespective of the intended target', the strike 'amounts to the war crime of launching an indiscriminate attack', because the US chose an airburst weapon whose effects 'could not be limited' in a populated area (paras 127–128). The US did not answer the Mission's requests for information."],"searchAliases":["Lamerd","Shahid Naimi sports hall","PrSM strike","Iran volleyball team strike"],"verificationStatus":"cross-referenced","legalBasis":"Customary IHL prohibition of indiscriminate attacks (ICRC Rules 11–12; AP I Art. 51(4)–(5) as custom) and duty of precaution (AP I Art. 57 as custom); Rome Statute Art. 8(2)(b)(i)/(iv); UN Fact-Finding Mission finding, A/HRC/63/61 paras 127–128","postureNote":"No court has ruled. The finding of a war crime is the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission's, at the 'reasonable grounds to believe' standard; it is strong but is not adjudication. The Mission had no access to Iran and no response from the US. Casualty figures come from Iranian officials and Airwars and have not been independently confirmed by a UN on-site investigation. The US denies the strike was American. The Rome Statute has no free-standing offence of indiscriminate attack, the Mission did not determine what the strike was aimed at, and it applied a recklessness standard that is lower than the intent and knowledge required by Article 30 of the Statute. For those reasons this entry does not treat the Rome Statute elements as shown at the reasonable-grounds standard; see Legal Analysis. Neither the US nor Iran is an ICC State Party, and no Article 12(3) declaration by Iran had been found as of October 2026.","relatedIncidents":["iran-war-minab-school-strike","iran-war-crime-of-aggression","iran-war-sirik-wedding-strike","dismantlement-civilian-harm-mitigation","pentagon-ig-civilian-harm-dismantlement"]}}