Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/TEHRAN: Tehran announced it had made the first arrests in a spate of mystery poisonings of schoolgirls that have affected more than 5,000 pupils since late November.
According to Arab News, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme leader, had called Monday for the perpetrators of the “unforgivable crime” to be tracked down “without mercy” as public anger mounts.
The interior ministry said that “several people” suspected of manufacturing hazardous substances had been arrested in six provinces, including a pupil’s parent.
Majid Mirahmadi, Iran’s deputy interior minister, told state television earlier on Tuesday that the “intelligence agencies” had made many arrests, “and the agencies are conducting a full investigation.”
Scores of Iranian schools have been targeted by poisonings since late November, with pupils suffering symptoms ranging from shortness of breath to nausea and vertigo after reporting “unpleasant” odours on school premises. Few have been treated in hospitals.
Over 230 schools were affected
“Twenty-five provinces and approximately 230 schools also have been affected, and more than 5,000 schoolgirls and boys poisoned,” a member of the parliamentary fact-finding committee, Mohammad-Hassan Asafari, told the ISNA news agency on Monday.
“Many tests are being carried out to identify the type and cause of the poisonings. So far, no specific details have been obtained regarding the type of poison used.”
The puzzle poisonings have triggered a wave of anger and demands for action from the authorities.
According to the interior ministry, arrests had been made in Khuzestan, West Azerbaijan, Khorasan, Fars, Kermanshah, and Alborz provinces.
He said that one of those arrested had allegedly used their child to insert the “irritant” into the girl’s school and then recorded videos of sick students, which were sent to “hostile media” to “create terror… and close schools,”
