Investigation ongoing, arrests made in Iranian schoolgirls poisoning

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
7 Mar 2023 18:10

Iranian Deputy Interior Minister announces that several suspects were arrested following an investigation into the poisoning of schoolgirls across Iran.

Iranian police (IRNA)

The Deputy Interior Minister of Iran Seyyed Majid Mirahmadi announced, on Tuesday, there are developments in the poisoning case of schoolgirls across Iran.

Mirahmadi said the Iranian intelligence agencies arrested people in six Iranian provinces and that an investigation into the case is being conducted.

Three of the detainees had participated in the recent riots, and their relationship with hostile foreign media was proven, the Iranian Interior Ministry revealed, further adding that one of the detainees introduced allergenic materials into the school and filmed their effect on the students.

Scenes of poisoned students were sent to hostile foreign channels with the aim of disrupting schools and causing fear and panic, the Ministry revealed.

On Monday, Iranian leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei considered the poisoning of Iranian schoolgirls in recent months an "unforgivable" crime amid the spread of suspected poisoning across the country with hundreds of girls hospitalized.

"Authorities should seriously pursue the issue of students' poisoning. This is an unforgivable crime... the perpetrators of this crime should be severely punished," Sayyed Khamenei was quoted as saying by state media.

Over a thousand Iranian girls in different schools have suffered "mild poison" attacks since November, according to state media and officials.

In most cases, the schoolgirls suffered respiratory problems, nausea, fatigue, and dizziness.

Iranian President #EbrahimRaisi has accused "Tehran's enemies" of the recent mass poisoning of schoolgirls throughout the nation in a speech he delivered to a crowd in southern #Iran. pic.twitter.com/DW4PZUMj8B
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) March 6, 2023

The spreading attacks that started in November in the city of Qom in central Iran have spread to at least 25 of Iran's 31 provinces.

An Iranian official revealed that a suspicious fuel tanker that was found near a school in a suburb of Tehran, after being spotted in two other sites near other schools in Qom and Bourjerd, is suspected to be responsible for the poisoning.

The tanker was reportedly apprehended and the driver was arrested.