Tehran, 2 March 2023 (GNP): A new wave of alleged gas attacks on girls’ schools on Wednesday resulted in the hospitalization of over 100 students in Iran, according to the Iranian media.
In the last three months, hundreds of incidents of respiratory distress have been documented among Iranian schoolgirls, and one government official has suggested that this may be a move to close girls’ schools.
According to media reports, the most recent suspected strikes on Wednesday hit at least 10 girls’ schools, seven of which were in the city of Ardabil in the northwest and three of which were in Tehran.
According to Tasnim News Agency, which also reported poisonings at three schools in Tehran, the event in Ardabil caused the hospitalization of 108 children, all of whom were in stable condition.
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According to the Fars news agency, kids at a high school in Tehransar, the capital’s western neighborhood, were subjected to a poisonous spray.
In the first known arrests related to the surge of alleged poisoning assaults on girls’ schools, Fars claimed that the security services had detained three individuals.
According to a lawmaker, around 1,200 students have sought hospitalization for breathing problems since the mysterious poisonings began in November.
According to Zahra Sheikhi, a member of the health committee of the Iranian parliament, they included roughly 800 in the city of Qom and 400 in the western city of Borujerd.
As stated on the website of the parliament, testing conducted by the health ministry on the chemical discovered at the Qom schools revealed residues of nitrogen, which are primarily used in fertilizers.
The poisonings have caused an uproar of outrage across the nation, with opponents railing over the authorities’ mute response to the increasing number of affected institutions.
Younes Panahi, Iran’s deputy health minister, claimed on Sunday that some people in Qom had been poisoned to prevent girls from attending school.
Advocates who oppose girls’ education have connected those who carried out the assaults on schools to the Boko Haram in the Sahel and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
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Ebrahim Raisi has directed Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi to offer “continuous information on the outcome of the investigation,” according to the website of the Iranian president.
According to President Raisi’s website, he nominated Vahidi to “allay the concerns of the families” of the affected students.
Vahidi denied Wednesday’s Fars reports that the security forces had made the first recorded arrests related to the surge of alleged poisonings at a press briefing.
He told media that several claims were “completely false,” and that reports about the discovery of a certain chemical material being used in attacks were also false.
