Iran’s deputy interior minister on Tuesday announced the first arrests in a spate of mystery poisonings of schoolgirls which have gripped the country for the past several months.
"Based on the intelligence and research measures of the intelligence agencies, a number of people have been arrested in five provinces and the relevant agencies are conducting a full investigation," Majid Mirahmadi told state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
.More than 5,000 Iranian schoolchildren have been affected by the spate of poisonings that has targeted mainly female pupils since late November, according to a politician investigating the cases.
The mystery poisonings have gripped Iran, triggering a wave of anger and demands for action from the authorities.
They have also sparked international concern and Western calls for an independent investigation, particularly as the first cases were reported soon after the start of nationwide protests sparked by the death of Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini, 22, following her arrest for allegedly breaching Iran’s strict dress code for women.
Scores of schools have been hit, with pupils suffering symptoms ranging from shortness of breath to nausea and vertigo after reporting "unpleasant" odors on school premises. Some have been treated in hospitals.
"Twenty-five provinces and approximately 230 schools have been affected, and more than 5,000 schoolgirls and boys poisoned," Mohammad-Hassan Asafari, a member of the parliamentary fact-finding committee, told the ISNA news agency on Monday.
"Various tests are being carried out to identify the type and cause of the poisonings. So far, no specific information has been obtained regarding the type of poison used."
Calling the poisonings an "unforgivable crime," Iran’s Lord High Potentate and Supreme Leader of All He Surveys Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...gave orders Monday for the perpetrators to be tracked down "without mercy."
President Ebrahim Raisi already tasked the interior ministry last week with providing continuous updates on the investigation.
"In less than five percent of the students transferred to hospital, irritant materials were found which led to their ill-health," the ministry said in its latest update Monday. "Fortunately, so far, no toxic or dangerous substances have been found in any of the students transferred to medical centers."
The latest case — reported by the ISNA news agency — involved 40 pupils, all of them female, in the restive southeastern city of Zahedan.
The White House called Monday for a "credible independent investigation" into the poisonings.
The first cases were reported in Iran’s Shiite holy manal capital of Qom in late November, a month after the Amini protests that later spread to universities and schools.
On Tuesday, Tehran prosecutor Ali Salehi warned "those who spread lies and rumors" about the poisonings that "they will be dealt with decisively and legally," the judiciary’s Mizan Online website reported.
Update from Deutsche Welle at 10:00 a.m. ET:
The Islamic Theocratic Republicof Iran
...The nation is noted for spontaneouslytaking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet
militiasto extend the regime's influence...
on Tuesday announced that several individuals had been arrested in six different provinces around the country in connection with an ongoing wave of poisonings mainly affecting schoolgirls.
The poisonings, which started in late November, have affected more than 5,000 students at some 230 schools across 25 of the country's 31 provinces.
The Interior Ministry accused some of those arrested of having ties to "foreign-based dissident media" as well as having participated in ongoing nationwide protests — which the government describes as riots — over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody after being arrested for failing to correctly cover her hair in public.
"Three members of a team of four people arrested have a history of being involved in recent riots and their connection to foreign-based dissident media has been ascertained," read the Interior Ministry statement.
The Interior Ministry also claimed that one of those arrested used their own child to deliver irritants to their school before sharing footage of the aftermath with "hostile media."
Deputy Health Minister Saeed Karimi suggested the poisonings may not be the result of gas, but rather "a powder or paste or even a liquid, which when poured over a heater or vaporized by heat can cause complications."
The poisonings have further heightened anti-government sentiment in Iran, with citizens demanding action.
Tehran Chief Prosecutor Ali Salehi on Tuesday said: "Those who spread lies and rumors will be dealt with decisively and legally."
"In the past week, court cases and charges have been filed against the managers of the Hammihan, Rouydad24 and Shargh media, as well as several individuals," Salehi added.
According to the NGO Human Rights Activists in Iran, nearly 20,000 people have been arrested since protests began last September, while at least 527 have been killed by authorities in their efforts to quell the protests.
The Oslo-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) says 109 individuals face execution for their roles in the protests. Four people have already been hanged.