nicosia: The mysterious and unexplained wave of schoolgirl poisonings in various Iranian cities, which has so far affected more than 900 girls, is a “revenge” attack by extreme Islamists who do not want girls to attend schools, or government supporters who Women and girls are taking “revenge” for the widespread protests that erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini, or as Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi claims the work of Tehran’s enemies.
The first known incident of a schoolgirl poisoning occurred on 30 November in the city of Qom, when approximately 50 students fell ill and were taken to hospital. According to the media, the girls reported a pungent smell of rotten tangerines, chlorine or cleaning agents and then suffered from headaches, dizziness, breathing problems and nausea. Some of them even experienced temporary paralysis of their limbs.
Although the girls were released after a few days, an 11-year-old girl named Fatemeh Rezaei died of poisoning, although her family and the doctor who treated her said she “died of a severe infection”. And she was not poisoned.” Iranian media reported that at least 58 schools in eight provinces and the capital Tehran and the cities of Borujerd and Ardebi followed the poisoning of the schoolgirl in Qom.
Dozens of girls as well as some boys and teachers were hospitalised, affected by the toxic substance used in the attacks. On Saturday, Reuters news agency reported that more than 30 schools in at least 10 of Iran’s 31 provinces were sick and dozens of students were taken to hospitals for treatment. At first, the Iranian regime tried to dismiss and downplay the events.
Yet, as the frequency of attacks increased, it was realized that this could no longer hide the fact that what happened to girls’ schools across the country was not accidental. The United Nations Human Rights Office in Geneva called for a transparent investigation into the matter on Friday. The attacks are suspected and several countries, including Germany and the United States, have expressed concern.
Iranian Deputy Education Minister Yunus Panahi acknowledged that the attacks were deliberate but did not involve military-grade but publicly available chemicals. claiming that his comments had been misunderstood. Last Friday, President Ibrahim Raisi claimed that the poisoning was the work of Iran’s enemies, who seek to create chaos in the country and create fear, despair and insecurity among parents and students.
Raisi appointed the Ministry of the Interior to oversee the investigation, while the Prosecutor General announced the launch of a criminal investigation, saying the available evidence indicated criminal and premeditated acts. According to a report by Al Jazeera, Reza Karimi Saleh, deputy governor of Tehran’s Pardis suburb, said a fuel tanker found next to a school in the suburb was attacked with a toxic substance, also seen in attacks against schools in Qom. I went. ,
The driver of the tanker has been arrested. Many Iranians fear Islamic fundamentalists are behind the attacks as they aim to terrorize girls and prevent their families from sending them to school. Such methods were used by the Taliban in Afghanistan in the 2010s and more recently by the Islamic militant group Boko Haram in Nigeria, which abducted 276 schoolgirls in 2014.
Alireza Monadi, an MP and head of parliament’s education committee, said on Tuesday that the schools were deliberately attacked and that 30 toxicologists from the Ministry of Health had identified nitrogen gas as the toxic substance found in the schools.
Monadi and Younus Panahi, the deputy health minister, said the aim seemed to be to prevent girls from attending schools, to warn of possible infiltration by Islamic extremist groups. Many claim that the attacks themselves are the work of elements of the clerical establishment and a payback for the widespread demonstrations following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who died in custody following her arrest. Morality Police for the crime of not wearing her headscarf properly.
Mahsa Amini’s death last September has sparked repeated mass protests by both women and men in dozens of Iranian cities and towns across the country, protesting its repressive clerical regime that imposes myriad restrictions on its citizens, and women in particular. Let’s get angry. Social media showed thousands of women and schoolgirls tearing their hijabs and chanting slogans against the founder of Iranian democracy Ayatollah Khomeini, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Raisi and other senior clerics. Under the slogan: “Women, Life, Freedom,” the girls held several protests in their schools and removed their mandatory headscarves.
Later, tens of thousands of people joined these protests, chanting “Death to the Dictator”. These massive protests are undoubtedly the biggest opposition challenge to Tehran’s democracy in years. The hard-line Iranian news agency Fars reported that the poisoning of the schoolgirl was a plot by the opposition based outside the country to incite a “silent majority” who did not participate in street protests, but held demonstrations calling for revolution. could join a new wave of ,
However, many exiled Iranians point to the fact that dozens of schools in so many cities and so many provinces were attacked and say it could not have been the handiwork of a small group of Islamic extremists, but rather an arm of the Iranian state. Which is running a “false flag” campaign to “revenge” schoolgirls for anti-government protests.
No one can say whether or not the real perpetrators of these attacks will eventually be revealed, but the fact is that the differing explanations given by Iranian officials cause confusion, reasonable suspicion among ordinary Iranians toward their country’s government, and exacerbates the lack of trust.
Senior cleric Mohammad Javad Tabatabai-Boroujerdi was quoted by Iranian media as saying: “Officials are giving contradictory statements… one says it’s intentional, another says it’s security related and another official says it’s about schools.” Blames the heating system of K. Such statements increase people’s mistrust towards the government.
(Disclaimer: Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Zee News staff and is published from a syndicated feed)