Iran live updates: US rejects UN report on possible war crimes in Minab school strike

President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.

Delegations from the U.S. and Iran entered negotiations in June aimed at a war-ending deal based on a memorandum of understanding signed by both countries.

Those talks broke down as the U.S. and Iran continued to exchange strikes, with the strategic Strait of Hormuz as the primary flashpoint. Trump then said in August that the U.S. would launch a "crushing economic operation" to force Tehran into submission.

The average price for a gallon of diesel was still hovering around a record-high of $6.43 as of Friday morning, according to the latest data published by GasBuddy. Oil prices, meanwhile, edged lower but remained above $100 a barrel. Brent crude oil prices, a benchmark for global trading, were around $103 per barrel as of Friday morning, down roughly 1.3%. WTI crude oil, used as the North American benchmark, was trading at around $102 per barrel down 0.4%. The nationwide average price for a gallon of regular gas was at $4.47 as of Friday, according to GasBuddy -- up $1.53 since the U.S. war with Iran started.

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto confirmed on Friday that an Italian Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet was "hit" during a Thursday night attack on the King Fahad Air Base in southwestern Saudi Arabia. "An Italian F-2000 aircraft was hit, which was located inside the base in a remote area," Crosetto said in a statement posted to X by the Italian Defense Ministry, using the Italian air force's designation for the Typhoon. "There are no other damages to vehicles or infrastructure used by our personnel." The air base, Crosetto said, "has been the target of several attacks." Italian troops engaged in Operation Inherent Resolve -- the U.S.-led coalition campaign against ISIS -- are deployed at the facility, which is also known as the Taif air base. Crosetto did say who was responsible for the strike. The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have claimed multiple drone and ballistic missile attacks on the King Fahad Air Base in recent weeks.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Friday said that Seoul will not engage in the ongoing U.S.-Iran war, as the country weighs plans to contribute to future maritime security operations in the Strait of Hormuz. "Let it be clear. There will be no dispatch of troops that will lead to involvement in a conflict. There will be no engagement or involvement in war," Lee said in a televised press conference, as quoted by the Yonhap News Agency. "The principle of no engagement or involvement in war has been observed so far and will continue to be observed in the future," he added. South Korea has faced pressure from President Donald Trump to provide active support for U.S. military operations against Iran. Last month, Trump ordered the curtailment of planned joint U.S.-South Korean military drills, a decision he said was in part due to Seoul's refusal to join the conflict.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre reported that a tanker was "struck by an unknown projectile" in the Strait of Hormuz in the early hours of Friday morning. The impact caused a fire onboard the vessel, which was later extinguished, the UKMTO said. All crew members were reported safe, the alert added.

The State Department is pushing back on a UN-commissioned report that found there is "reasonable grounds to believe" the U.S. committed war crimes in Iran, including during a strike on a primary school in Minab. "The Trump Administration formally withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council following the Council's consistent failures to uphold its own 'values' as it pushes anti-American rhetoric and antisemitism, all while it appeases repressive regimes, thus making a mockery of the very 'rights' it claims to protect," a State Department official said. "As such, we do not give credibility" to the findings of the report. The official continued: "The protection of civilians is of the utmost importance to the U.S. We refer to the Department of War with respect to specific questions on U.S. operations." In regards to Minab, the report—which relies on open source reporting—concluded the attack on the school "went beyond mere negligence." "Rather, the U.S. directed the strikes at the building of the school while being aware of a substantial risk of striking a civilian object and acting recklessly as regards the possibility that this would happen," the report stated. The report also notes that investigators sent a request for information to the U.S. government, as well as requests for meetings, but that their requests went unanswered. The fact-finding mission also concluded that Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity, saying the number of casualties caused by the regime's crackdown earlier this year could not be verified, but that it was likely "significantly higher" than figures reported by Iran's government (3,038 killed, 25,000 injured.) -ABC News' Shannon Kingston

President Donald Trump told Axios in an interview published Thursday that he has a "big decision" coming up on whether to "go in and annihilate" the Iranian regime. "I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate them [the Iranian regime] or do I not? It's a big decision. Anything could happen with me," Trump said, according to Axios. According to Axios, during the interview "Trump declined to say whether he'll decide on the path forward before or after the midterms." -ABC News' Michelle Stoddart

Saudi Arabia's Civil Defense Directorate announced on Thursday that shrapnel from a downed Houthi drone killed at least one person and injured two others in the Taif Governorate, in the southwestern Mecca Province. The shrapnel also caused "material damage to several buildings and vehicles," the directorate said in a statement posted to X. -ABC News' Othon Leyva

The State Department announced on Wednesday that it had extended sanctions denying visas to Palestinian Authority officials and members of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, saying that officials "have, once again, failed to live up to their commitments" required by U.S. law. "It is in our national interest to impose consequences and hold the PLO and PA accountable for glorifying terrorism," the State Department said in a press release. The move effectively bars a high-level Palestinian delegation -- including Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas -- from traveling to New York for the upcoming United Nations General Assembly high-level week. The measure does contain a carveout for personnel assigned to the PLO observer mission at the UN. -ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston

U.S. bases in the Middle East have suffered severe damage as a result of Iranian attacks, images and videos obtained by ABC News show, as the Pentagon surveys the costs of a war the U.S. began more than six months ago. The images, which were recently obtained by ABC News but capture moments in time across the conflict, show damage to buildings and an aircraft at three U.S. bases in Kuwait and a Saudi base that houses U.S. assets, some of which were evacuated amid the danger. A senior U.S. service member told ABC News that the damage to the facilities would take "decades" to repair.

President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday that he hopes that the U.S. is "toward the end of the war" with Iran. "Well, hopefully we're toward the end of the war," Trump said on the tarmac in North Carolina when asked by a reporter how he would describe what phase the war is in. "They want to make a deal. We'll see how that works out." When asked whether there are intermediaries in the negotiations with Iranians, Trump said, "We deal directly." -ABC News' Michelle Stoddart and Devin Garbitt