TEHRAN: Dozens of schoolgirls were poisoned in several schools across Iran on Saturday, continuing a phenomenon that has been happening for months, according to local media reports.
Since late November, several schools, mostly for girls, have been affected by sudden poisoning incidents from gases or toxic substances, causing fainting and hospitalization among the students.
At least 60 girl students were poisoned in a girls’ school in the town of Haftkel, in the oil-rich southwestern province of Khuzestan.
Several schoolgirls were poisoned in five schools in Ardabil town in the northwest, where the victims showed symptoms of shortness of breath, anxiety, and headaches, a provincial medical official said.
Several schoolgirls were taken to the hospital on Saturday after feeling sick in the northwestern city of Urmia, the capital of West Azerbaijan province.
Over 5,000 schoolgirls affected by poisoning incidents
According to an official count released on March 7, more than 5,000 students have been affected by similar poisonings in over 230 establishments located in 25 of the country’s 31 provinces.
The national fact-finding committee formed to probe these cases is expected to release its final report in two weeks.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had directed severe sentences, up to the death penalty, against those found responsible for the poisoning attacks. He described the incidents as “unforgivable crimes.”
The poisoning incidents began two months after the start of a protest movement in Iran sparked by the September 16 custodial death of Mahsa Amini, 22, following her detention for allegedly violating the strict dress code for women.
