TEHRAN, Iran – Iranian authorities on Tuesday announced the first arrests linked to the serial poisoning of schoolgirls that has sent shockwaves across the country in recent months.
Speaking to state TV, Deputy Interior Minister Majid Mirahmadi said "some people" have been arrested across five provinces.
"Based on the intelligence and research measures of the intelligence agencies, some people have been arrested in five provinces and the relevant agencies are conducting a full investigation," he said.
The official didn't specify the number of people arrested or their identities, adding that the final results will be announced once the investigation is complete.
Mirahmadi stressed that it is important to "know the enemy's plan", who he claimed seeks to "stoke fear, anxiety and disruption in the education system of the country."
More than 1,200 schoolgirls from across the country have been hospitalized in recent months for symptoms of poisoning, according to state media. Reformist media reports, however, have put the figure higher.
The first cases of these poisonings were reported in November in the central Iranian city of Qom when 18 schoolgirls were admitted to a hospital after complaining of symptoms such as nausea, headache, breathing problems, cough and body pain.
In subsequent weeks, the wave spread to other cities, including Tehran, Ardabil, Isfahan, Kermanshah, Azerbaijan, Bandar Abbas, Urmia, Zanjan and Mashhad.
Last week, President Ebrahim Raisi ordered an investigation into the mysterious illness, instructing Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi to find the root cause of the issue that sparked protests in some cities.
In a preliminary report released on Monday night, the interior ministry said "no toxic substance was found" in the samples taken from affected students, adding that the "rumor-mongers have been prosecuted".
The report noted that irritant substances were found in less than five percent of students, which caused symptoms of poisoning, adding that it could be a "deliberate and criminal act."
Deputy Health Minister Saeed Karimi said a scientific committee investigating the issue visited many provinces and found that substance that caused the poisoning was "not of a dangerous type."
He said "irritant substances" were used in the poisoning that affected "less than 10 percent" of students by inhalation, leading to various symptoms of poisoning.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday termed the serial poisonings a “big and unforgivable sin”, instructing the authorities to “seriously pursue the matter.”
“If it is proven that the students were poisoned, the perpetrators of this crime should be severely punished. There will be no amnesty for these people,” he said in a video released by his office.
Judiciary chief Mohseni Ejei also termed the poisoning as an example of "corruption on earth", warning of "exemplary punishment" to those directly or indirectly involved in it.
Top Iranian officials have linked the hysteria related to the mysterious illness to "enemies", in a veiled reference to the West.
At a public rally in southern Bushehr city on Friday, Raisi said the poisoning of schoolgirls was part of the “hybrid war” against Iran to “foment unrest.”
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also took to Twitter to criticize Western countries for their “interventionist reaction” to the issue, after the US and Germany called for an "investigation" into it. (Anadolu)
