Iran says it will investigate a wave of poisonings of female students at various schools in the country. Some politicians have suggested religious groups opposed to girls’ education could be behind the attacks.
Minister of Health Bahram Eynollahi said on Thursday a committee of experts, including toxicologists, were investigating. Poisonings at more than 30 schools in at least four cities started in November in Iran’s holy city of Qom. They’ve prompted some parents to take their children out of school, state media reported.
They come at a critical time for Iran’s clerical rulers, who faced months of anti-government protests sparked by the death of a young Iranian woman in the custody of the morality police. Iran’s interior minister blamed the poisonings on unnamed “enemies” of Iran for causing disruption and inciting fear.
