Iranian schoolgirls hit by another poisoning attack shortly after resumption of classes

About 20 Iranian schoolgirls were hospitalised following the latest series of alleged poisoning attacks in Tabriz, over 600 km northwest of Tehran. The incident occurred in Tabriz’s Baghmisheh town just a day after the Iranian schools resumed classes after the Persian New Year break.

A spree of poisoning attacks reported from Tehran and other cities in over four months have drawn widespread condemnation. These poisonings are being seen in connection with women's rights protests which broke out in Iran after the custodial death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Al-Amini last September.

The poisoned girls are under treatment after they suffered shortness of breath, according to the head of the emergency service in West Azerbaijan, news agency ISNA reported.

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None of the latest victims are critical, state media reported, adding that the condition for all the schoolgirls remains stable.

Since November 2022, an estimated 5,000 school girls have complained about nausea, breathing difficulties and heart palpitations due to the poisoning incidents. Across Iran, parents have protested the poisonings while urging authorities to ensure the safety of girls.

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The United Nations has slammed Iran for failing to stop the "deliberate poisonings" of the schoolgirls, and has urged the Islamic Republic to conduct independent probes into the matter.

According to the United Nations, the first poisoning of schoolgirls in Iran was reported on November 30, 2022, in the city of Qom. Since then, targeted chemical attacks against girls’ schools have been reported in more than 91 schools across 20 provinces.

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"The poisonings have already resulted in hundreds of schoolgirls being hospitalised. Many parents have removed their daughters from school for fear of these attacks,” UN said.

"We are deeply concerned about the physical and mental well-being of these schoolgirls; their parents and the ability of the girls to enjoy their fundamental right to education. While arrests have just been announced, we remain gravely disturbed by the fact that for several months, State authorities not only failed to swiftly investigate the attacks, but repeatedly denied them until recently," they added.

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