– Khamenei, we are going to bury you, shouts outside a school in Tehran. Hundreds of schoolgirls in Iran have been mysteriously poisoned by a toxic gas in recent months, the BBC, The Guardian and several international newspapers, among others, write. It started in the religious city of Qom, then it has spread to over 30 girls’ schools in the country. On Wednesday, at least nine schools were attacked. Parents are now afraid to send their girls to school. Several schools in the country have been closed due to fears of more attacks. Photo: irinn According to the BBC, the poisonous gas has seeped into the classrooms. The children have said that it started to smell like chlorine and strong detergents before they suddenly became ill. – An organized terrorist attack Everything indicates that the Iranian authorities are directly or indirectly involved in them, says Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam to news. He is the leader of Iran Human Rights, which fights for basic human rights in Iran. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam is the founder and head of the organization Iran Human Rights. Photo: PETTER BERNTSEN / AFP He calls the attacks an organized terrorist attack. – If those who are behind it are not the authorities, then at least they have strong supporters who allow them to continue, he says and continues: – Iran spends a lot of time and resources on intelligence, but they have not stopped these attacks. The United States is now calling on Iran to investigate the attacks, reports the Reuters news agency on Wednesday evening. Lost feeling in the body Many people have been admitted to hospital with breathing problems, nausea and some have lost feeling in the body. – When I stand up, I feel dizzy and my body feels completely numb. I can’t walk, says a schoolgirl admitted to the hospital in the city of Qom. She is interviewed by the state channel in Iran, IRINN. Another girl lies in a hospital bed next to her. She is connected to a ventilator and says that she has chest pains. Many girls are now admitted to the hospital with breathing problems. Photo: IRINN – Clear connection with the demonstrations The poisonings come at a critical time for Iran’s leaders, who have had months of protests against the government. The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini, who died in police custody last autumn because she wore the hijab “incorrectly”, has led to large demonstrations around the world. There have been large demonstrations in the country since last autumn. Here from a protest in 2022. Photo: WANA NEWS AGENCY / Reuters – This could be part of spreading fear, but also revenge, Amiry-Moghaddam believes. The protests have largely been led by young girls, and slogans such as “woman, life, freedom” have been the driving force behind the protests. – It is chemical warfare against girls who have demanded basic rights. They just want to choose what to wear, he says. Many schoolgirls have taken part in the protests, and several women have chosen not to wear the hijab outdoors anymore. Despite the fact that it is still illegal in Iran. Think someone wants to shut down girls’ schools The authorities in Iran initially believed that the attacks on the schools were random, but Deputy Health Minister Younes Panahi said on Tuesday that someone may have poisoned the girls to shut down girls’ schools. He did not elaborate further and no one has yet been arrested. Pictures of Iranian schoolgirls pointing the finger at the Iranian regime and its leaders have been circulating since last fall. Photo: twitter At the same time, Deputy Interior Minister Majid Mirahmadi said that “over 90% of incidents are due to stress” and that it is the media that has created unnecessary unrest. Although there are divisions in what the authorities say, the head of Iran Human Rights believes that one must look at what they actually do. – They can give the impression that there are disagreements, but you have to look at what they are doing. And they do nothing to stop the attacks, says Amiry-Moghaddam. The authorities have also received criticism from the parliament in Iran. – The report from the Ministry of Health is acceptable, but the explanations from the Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Education are not convincing at all, said Jalil Rahimi Jahanabadi, a member of the Parliament’s National Security Commission.
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– An organized terrorist attack – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
