Poisoning in girls’ schools in Iran now nationwide

The first school where girls were poisoned is in the Shia holy city of Qom. But now there are reports of schools spread across 21 of Iran’s 30 provinces, most of which are girls’ schools. In one case, it is a boys’ school.

“Suspicious substances”

Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said, according to the official IRNA news agency without further comment, that investigators had found “suspicious substances”. He called for calm and accused the “enemy’s terrorist media” of creating panic. Due to international media reports, President Ebrahim Raisi decided on Wednesday to investigate the incidents.

Recently, several videos of schoolgirls in hospital with IVs in their arms have appeared on social media, with frightened parents by their side. Iranian media, which is heavily controlled by the government, writes that exile groups or foreign powers are behind the poisonings.

Earlier, the Deputy Minister of Health said that “some personalities want schools to be closed, especially girls’ schools”.

‘Crocodile tears’

The German and US governments, among others, have called on Iran in recent days to better protect schoolgirls, but according to Iran’s foreign minister, these are “crocodile tears”.

Independent Iranian journalists suspect core Muslims are behind the attacks. A prominent journalist quotes a group calling itself Fidayeen Velayat as saying on a platform that girls’ education ‘should be banned’ and threatening to ‘continue to poison girls if girls’ schools remain open’. Although he also does not rule out that in some cases girls become ill due to mass hysteria; fear of being poisoned because they heard about it.

Since the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979, girls’ education has never been banned. Iran has also called on the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan to send girls and women back to school.