Girls’ schools in Iran: Who is behind the wave of poisoning?

A spate of poisonings at girls’ schools has sparked concern and anger in Iran. Almost 100 schoolgirls have to be treated in hospitals. Are religious fanatics to blame?

Hundreds of new cases of unexplained poisoning have been reported at girls’ schools in Iran. As the Iranian newspaper “Shargh” reported, more than 400 schoolgirls at eleven schools in the northern Iranian city of Ardabil alone have been affected. Almost 100 girls are being treated in the hospital, and in some cases their health is said to be critical.

Similar cases were reported in dozens of schools in other parts of the country on Wednesday. The latest wave of poisonings at girls’ schools has the country in a tizzy. Parents are worried and angry, still there is no official statement from the government.

First cases already in November

However, the authorities have long assumed targeted poison attacks. The background is largely unclear. Schoolgirls said they inhaled fumes that smelled like tangerines, chlorine and detergent. Afterward, they had headaches and tachycardia, were exhausted and unable to move.

The first cases were already reported at the end of November, when the protests in Iran were in full swing. Initially only a few girls’ schools in the Shiite stronghold of Qom were affected, but in the past few days more and more cases have become known in other parts of the country. Many girls were taken to hospitals. Now the wave of poisoning has also reached the capital, Tehran.

President calls for clarification

After the Ministry of Health initially dealt with the cases, the arch-conservative President Ebrahim Raisi also intervened on Wednesday. At a cabinet meeting, Raisi instructed the Interior Ministry to investigate the series of poisonings. The health and intelligence ministries should support it, the state news agency Irna reported.

Earlier, Deputy Interior Minister Majid Mirahmadi described the series of poisonings as psychological warfare by unspecified enemies of the country: “More than 99 percent are caused by stress, rumors and psychological warfare launched by hostile TV channels to create a troubled and stressful situation for schoolgirls and create parents.”

Religiously motivated attacks?

Former Vice President for Women and Family Affairs Massumeh Ebtekar called on the authorities to “put an end once and for all to the misogynistic fanatics”. And Deputy Health Minister Junes Panahi said, according to Irna, after the poisoning cases in Qom it was found “that some people wanted all schools, especially girls’ schools, to be closed”.

For months, Raisi’s government has been under pressure alongside the country’s clerical leadership. The women’s protests after the violent death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last fall had plunged the political leadership into the worst crisis in decades, and the difficult economic situation is also causing many concerns.