In Iran, dozens of girls have again been treated after poisoning. Since November, more than 1,000 students have been attacked with poisonous gas during protests against the Iranian regime.
Some say the poisonings are a deliberate attempt to close girls’ schools. Iranian authorities have not confirmed this.
Students from 26 schools in five Iranian cities were victims of the attacks. They suffer from breathing problems, nausea, dizziness and fatigue. The students are in different hospitals, some are given oxygen.
The students may have been the target of the attacks because they took part in the violent protests in the country against the strict regime.
More than a thousand students poisoned
The Iranian Interior Minister, Ahmad Vahidi, has been appointed to find out the reason for the poisonings. At least seven hundred attacks are being investigated.
Vahidi is under increasing pressure from angry residents. The poisonings started in the city of Qom, south of the capital Tehran. In that city, the number of attacks is already estimated at twelve hundred. Nevertheless, the minister has so far denied that toxic substances were found.
On Sunday, Deputy Health Minister Younes Panahi said it was “obvious that some people wanted all schools, especially girls’ schools, to be closed.” But he later backtracked and said his comments had been misunderstood.
Authorities have portrayed the protests as “riots” and responded with deadly violence. Human rights organizations now state that hundreds of demonstrators have been killed, including dozens of children. The new series of poisonings has once again sparked concern and anger among Iranian citizens.
