Iran protest takes place in Western Park, Ponsonby. Video / Alex Burton
A wave of mysterious poisoning incidents has sparked concerns among officials in Iran.
According to reports by Tasnim News Agency, dozens of Iranian schoolgirls required hospital treatment on Tuesday following the latest in a spate of suspected attacks.
The incidents have mainly targeted girls’ schools, particularly in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran, and have resulted in hundreds of cases of respiratory distress over the past three months.
The Iranian government has suggested that the poisonings may be a deliberate attempt to force the closure of girls’ schools, a move that would be consistent with the actions of extremist groups like the Taliban in Afghanistan and Boko Haram, which oppose education for girls.
“Investigating where this mild poison comes from … and whether it is an intentional move are not within the scope of my ministry,” Health Minister Bahram Einollahi said.
Despite these concerns, Iranian police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan has cautioned against jumping to conclusions about the origins or intentions of the attacks.
A freedom rally for Iran was held in Auckland's Aotea Square. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
The suspected poisonings were being investigated, Iran’s police chief told Tasnim News Agency on Tuesday.
“Our priority is to find the origin of this case, and until then, we will not judge whether it was intentional or not,” it quoted Ahmad-Reza Radan as saying.
“We have not yet arrested anyone in this case and we are identifying possible suspects,” the police chief added.
On Sunday, Deputy Health Minister Younes Panahi said some children had been poisoned at a girls’ school in Qom in a bid to shut down education for girls.
“After the poisoning of several students in Qom schools, it was found that some people wanted all schools, especially girls’ schools, to be closed,” IRNA quoted him as saying at the time.
The incidents have also occurred against a backdrop of nationwide protests that began in September 2022 after the death of 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini in police custody.
The Iranian government has responded to the protests with a crackdown that has reportedly resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of arrests. As tensions continue to mount, officials and activists are calling for swift action to identify and bring to justice those responsible for the poisonings.
Former reformist vice-president Massoumeh Ebtekar has urged authorities to “put an end to misogynistic fanatics once and for all”, while Qom politician Ahmad Amiri Farahani has denounced the attacks as an “irrational act”.
The incidents have sparked nationwide outrage, and further investigations are under way to identify the perpetrators of the attacks.
A woman protesting against executions in Iran and in support of freedom for Iran. Photo / Getty Images
Senior cleric Mohammad Javad Tabatabai-Borujerdi also expressed concern over the reportedly contradictory statements being made by officials regarding the recent spate of poisoning incidents in Iranian schools.
According to state media reports, one official has suggested that the poisonings are intentional, while another has linked them to security concerns. Yet another official has reportedly blamed the incidents on faulty heating systems in schools.
Tabatabai-Borujerdi has warned that such contradictory statements only serve to erode public trust in the government and its institutions.
“Officials are giving contradictory statements … one says it is intentional, another says it is security-linked and another official blames it on schools’ heating systems,” state media quoted senior cleric Mohammad Javad Tabatabai-Borujerdi as saying.
“Such statements increase people’s mistrust.”
The horrific incident is yet another scandal facing the government against the backdrop of ongoing political tension in Iran.
Over the weekend, protesters in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan have taken to the streets in defiance of a heavy security presence and apparent internet blackout. The protests, which erupted on Friday, were captured on video footage posted by the Baluch Activists Campaign (BAC) on the messaging app Telegram.
The footage shows demonstrators waving banners emblazoned with the slogan “Death to the dictator” as they marched through the centre of the provincial capital, Zahedan.
Sistan-Baluchistan is Iran’s poorest region and borders Pakistan. It has been a hotbed of protest activity since the nationwide demonstrations that broke out in Iran in September.
According to Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR), at least 131 people have been killed in a brutal crackdown on the protests in the region. Most of these deaths occurred on a single day in Zahedan, on September 30, which has become known as “Bloody Friday”.
