Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has spoken out since November about the poisoning of schoolgirls in several schools in the country, which the regime has already admitted was happening.
“The authorities should take the matter of students drinking poison seriously,” he said Ayatollah, quoted by state media. “This is an unforgivable crime. The criminals should be punished severely,” he said.
About 100 Iranian students from various academic institutions experienced “mild events” with symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, tachycardia, lethargy and difficulty breathing. In recent weeks regime officials have acknowledged what was happening and what they thought was happening – giving no indication of who was responsible or what chemicals were used.
However, some politicians have suggested that this may be an act of religious groups who are opposed to girls studying.
The authorities of the country should seriously investigate the issue of students being poisoned. This is an unpardonable crime. If proven to have poisoned the students, the perpetrators of this crime should be given maximum punishment without parole.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) March 6, 2023
The first of these cases was reported in the central holy city of Qom in November, and cases have since been reported in more than 50 schools in 25 of the country’s 31 provinces, prompting some parents to withdraw their girls. Struggle against the regime from school. A similar attack took place at a boys’ school, according to the British newspaper Guardian.
This Monday, Iranian media reported that authorities detained Ali Pourtabadabai, a journalist from Qom who has been reporting on suspicious cases.
Interior Minister Ahmed Vahidi said at the weekend that “suspicious samples” had been collected as part of the investigation. Wahidi did not blame anyone in particular, pointing fingers only at “enemies” bent on destabilizing the country.
It has been the target of regime protests since September, following the death of 22-year-old Mahza Amini, who was arrested for non-use by “discipline guards”. Hijab (Islamic scarf) led to an unprecedented and brutally suppressed protest, violence against demonstrators and several death sentences and executions of participants in the demonstrations.