Iran: Students poisoned to close girls’ schools

In the Iranian holy city of Qom, hundreds of students have been poisoned in recent months with the aim of forcing girls’ schools to close. The health service announced this on Sunday.

Since the end of November, local media have reported cases of respiratory poisoning in Qom schools. Hundreds of girls as young as ten have fallen victim to this. Some of them ended up in the hospital for a short time.

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According to the official IRNA news agency, on February 14, the parents of these children organized a campaign to “demand clarification” from the authorities. The government spokesperson promised the next day that the Ministries of Information and Education would investigate the cause of the poisoning. The Deputy Minister of Health has now admitted there was malicious intent. “It has been proven that some personalities want to close schools, especially girls’ schools.”

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He also said that no suspects have been arrested so far. The victims ingested a chemical of “non-military nature”. The case comes to light against the backdrop of widespread protests in Iran over the killing of Mahsa Amini. She died on September 16 after being arrested by the religious police for not wearing a headscarf in accordance with the strict Islamic dress code.