UN report calls Israeli strike on Tehran’s Evin Prison a war crime

An Israeli airstrike on Tehran's Evin Prison last year was a war crime, according to an independent panel of experts commissioned by the UN's Human Rights Council.

In a report presented in Geneva on Monday, three legal experts monitoring Iran for the council said the June attack, which killed about 80 people, did not constitute a legitimate military objective.

The notorious prison is known for holding political prisoners.

Israel's mission to the United Nations in Geneva said a response to the allegation would likely be issued on Tuesday.

According to the report, Israel has previously defended the operation as a strike against Iranian domestic oppression and anti-Israeli espionage activities allegedly conducted within the prison walls.

Sara Hossain, chair of the expert panel, said military intervention was unlikely to produce lasting political change in Iran.

"External military action does not provide accountability or bring meaningful change," she said, referring to the latest military campaign against Iran by the US and Israel.

"Instead, it risks intensifying domestic repression by a state that routinely resorts to repressive measures to suppress dissent."

The UN experts also accused Iranian authorities of committing serious human rights violations that they said amount to crimes against humanity.

These include killings, arbitrary detention, torture, sexual violence and the persecution of women, the report said.