Iranians across the country have held anti-government protests outside education departments in dozens of cities demanding security protection for girls' schools and dormitories as mysterious chemical poisoning attacks continue.
Protesters chanted slogans such as "death to the child-killing regime" in cities including Kashmar, Saqqez, Harsin, Aligudarz and Ardebil, with security forces breaking up the protests in several locations and regime agents throwing tear gas at people in the northern city of Rasht.
In the capital Tehran, a group of protesters gathered in downtown Jomhouri Street with teachers and citizens also gathered in front of an education department office to slam the brutality against students, especially schoolgirls, who have been at the forefront of protests since September, seen cutting their hair and burning headscarves and photos of the Supreme Leader.
Reports say people in the religious city of Mashhad called for the resignation of officials as answers are still missing from the attacks which began in November and have since seen dozens of schools and university dormitories targeted by an unknown chemical poisoning.
The Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Association called for the gathering which took place on Tuesday, declaring their solidarity with the girls, hundreds of whom have been ill and hospitalized with symptoms including nausea, vomiting and dizziness, as well as respiratory issues. “We the working and retired teachers will not leave our children alone in such a painful situation," a statement said.
The Islamic Republic has failed to issue a clear report on those responsible, the type of chemicals used, or make any arrests. It is feared that the regime is quashing female protesters from backing protests triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, arrested by morality police for the incorrect wearing of her hijab.
“Our investigations indicate that probably less than 10 percent of the children [reportedly poisoned] had actually been affected by irritant substances,” the official in charge of the ministry’s treatment department, Dr. Saeed Karimi, told the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) Monday evening.
Attacks continued in at least 120 school in 25 of Iran's 31 provinces on Monday. The number of reported poisoning attacks across the country has greatly increased in the past few days.
Dr. Karimi said the ministry’s investigations were carried out by a committee of experts in pulmonology, toxicology, microbiology, infectious diseases, psychology, and environmental health who examined the poisoning reports from various provinces as well as some of the victims.
The “irritant substances,” he said, had affected the students between 10 to 15 minutes after they smelled fumes of varying odors and caused a burning sensation in the victims’ throats as well as coughing, shortness of breath, and tears followed by stomach cramps, lethargy, and in some cases, loss of limb movement.
Dr. Karimi, however, denied that what he called “irritant substances” were “dangerous, weapons grade, or deadly” but said they could have been thrown on a heat source such as a radiator in “solid, paste, powder or liquid form” before turning into fumes and spreading in the air.
“These irritant substances are not necessarily of one type to be named … They are generally readily available substances,” he said. “Irritant substances usually don’t bear long-term effects, [their effects are] passing, and are not used to cause permanent damage [to victims’ health],” he said.
However, some medical experts such as Dr. Mohammadreza Hashemian, an official at Masih Daneshvari Hospital in Tehran where many of the victims have been treated, have said that the gases suspected of being used seem to be composed of various chemicals that are not accessible to ordinary people.
The committee has obtained samples of these irritant substances but needs to recheck the results for certainty, the deputy health minister said. Meanwhile, social media reports indicate that private labs refuse to accept samples submitted by the public for the fear of getting into trouble with the authorities.
The deputy health minister also claimed that in around 90 percent of the cases symptoms were caused by stress and anxiety when other students fell ill or caused by media reports of the poisonings.
In the past 24 hours, there have also been reports of attacks on a boys’ high school in Karaj and boys’ primary in Esfahan and a shopping arcade in Ahvaz in southwestern Iran where at least 700 students were taken to hospital. Around ten shoppers who reportedly had some symptoms similar to the gas poisoning victims’ symptoms Sunday evening were also taken to hospital.
According to social media reports, some victims had nosebleeds as well but there are no further reports on the details of the incident.
The public is highly suspicious of the regime’s own involvement. A journalist was arrested in Qom Monday, apparently for investigating the possible connection of the perpetrators with hardliner groups loyal to the clerical regime. Sources in Iran say police and plainclothes agents present at the scenes of the attacks strictly prevent anyone from filming, presumably to prevent the perpetrators from being identified.
On Monday, for the first time since the first attack in the religious city of Qom on November 30, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei addressed the issue. “If there are really hands at work, or individuals or groups that are involved in this, this will be a huge crime that cannot be overlooked,” he said, adding that culprits should be given maximum punishment for their crime.
Some social media users say they fear Khamenei’s condemnation of the attacks may result in falsely blaming opposition groups and punishment for innocent individuals to cover up the possible role of extremist religious groups who want to prevent girls from getting an education beyond elementary level.
Opposition groups inside Iran have called for nationwide protests on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei said Monday in Esfahan (Isfahan) that women violating the Islamic dress code – or hijab -- will be punished, reaffirming that the law is still in place after months of unrest and a deadly crackdown on protests ignited by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. One of the ways of civil disobedience by Iranian women in the past six months has been removing their headscarves in public places.
"Removing one's hijab is equivalent to showing enmity to the Islamic Republic and its values. People who engage in such an abnormal act will be punished," Ejei said, adding that “With the help of the judiciary and the executive, authorities will use all available means to deal with the people who cooperate with the enemy and commit this sin that harms public order."
Hijab has been a contentious issue in recent months in Iran with many people not abiding by the rules and some confronting those who unveil in public. Also on Monday, Mehdi Bayati, the secretary of the government’s “Virtuous Life” working group, said that God has made hijab mandatory for Muslims according to the Quran, although this has long been a matter of debate.
Ejei also touched on the issue of the serial chemical attacks on girls’ schools and dormitories that first were reported in the religious city of Qom and spread to at least 21 of Iran’s 30 provinces. Reports suggest more than 1,000 schoolchildren have been affected by poisonings since November.
Ejei described the attacks as a “clear example of corruption on Earth,” a Sharia term that can lead to the death penalty. If the perpetrators of this action are identified and arrested, they will be sentenced to ‘corruption on Earth’ and will be punished decisively and without tolerance, he said.
His remarks came as Iran's ruler Ali Khamenei finally spoke out about the poisoning of schoolgirls in recent months and denied any government role in the attacks. If the attacks cease to happen from now on, it may be proof that the perpetrators are followers of Khamenei, strengthening speculations that they were acting following his remarks about “small punishment of youngsters” who took to the streets in anti-regime protests.
Following Khamenei’s remarks, Canada-based activist Hamed Esmaeilion -- whose daughter and wife were killed when the IRGC’s shooting shot down a Ukrainian airliner in January 2020 -- said that “a crime such as the widespread chemical attacks on girls’ schools across Iran is not possible without Khamenei knowing and ordering them; just like the fact that shooting at an airplane was not possible without his order.” Esmaeilion added that Khamenei is the prime suspect, and sentencing of the accused should start with him.
Over a thousand Iranian girls in different schools have suffered "mild poison" attacks since November, according to state media and officials, with some politicians suggesting they could have been targeted by religious groups opposed to girls' education.
However, citizens and critics on social media ask why the government has failed to arrest the perpetrators of such a large and coordinated campaign, while it was efficient in killing and detaining antigovernment protesters. Others say the hardliner establishment is behind the attacks to take revenge from schoolgirls who joined the Woman, Life, Freedom protests in October and November.
The Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Associations issued a statement on Monday, demanding an “an end to biological repression and the threat to the lives of citizens, especially students."
The council urged a transparent and independent fact-finding mission comprised of civil, trade union and political activists along with a group of doctors and experts as well as human rights lawyers to thoroughly investigate the issue and publish the results to the public. The large scale of the attacks and number of affected students cast doubts on the regime’s argument that the assaults are the results of arbitrary actions by hardliners who are against girls’ education, read the statement.
The group had already issued statements about the March 7 gathering, calling on teachers and the people of Iran to stage rallies outside the parliament in Tehran and in front of the education department offices in other cities to demand action on school attacks.
Teachers are also distraught about their falling purchasing power amid a sharp decline of Iran’s currency and raging inflation. This will also be a part of their protest.
Describing the attacks as “bioterrorism,” the national teachers’ union also criticized the government for three months of denials. “There is strong suspicion that the purpose of the attacks is quashing the Woman, Life, Freedom movement by instilling fear among girls and their families,” the statement said while demanding Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other top religious figures to condemn the attacks expressly and decisively.
Several other groups, including the Council of Freethinking Students of Iran and provincial guilds for teachers, also called for demonstrations to condemn the regime’s reluctance to act about the mass poisonings. The Council of Freethinking Students said that the gas attacks is the continuation of the regime project to indoctrinate students that started by “the introduction of Taliban ideology and employment of 20,000 mullahs into the education system as teachers."
"The tragedy of poisoning students by the rusty brains of lying and hypocritical authoritarian rulers, is an attempt to take revenge for the women, life, freedom uprising," added their statement.
There are other calls for protests to mark International Women's Day on Wednesday, with imprisoned journalist and human rights activist Narges Mohammadi urging more "street protests in Iran" over the poisoning of schoolgirls. In a post on her Instagram page Mohammadi called for "immediate practical action by all international human rights organizations and the United Nations" regarding the serial poisoning of students, especially girls. "Let's stop the crime against our girls with widespread protests and street presence across the country," she addressed the people of Iran.
Also on Monday, Iran's ruler Ali Khamenei finally spoke about the poisoning of schoolgirls, describing it as an "unforgivable" crime and denying any government role in the attacks. "Authorities should seriously pursue the issue of students' poisoning. This is an unforgivable crime... the perpetrators of this crime should be severely punished," Khamenei said.
If the attacks cease to happen from now on, it shows that the perpetrators are followers of Khamenei, strengthening speculations that they were acting following his remarks about “small punishment of youngsters” who took to the streets for anti-regime protests.