Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called for the death penalty for anyone who poisoned hundreds of schoolgirls, saying if the series of incidents were deliberate it would be an “unforgivable crime”.
“If the poisoning of the students is proven, those responsible for this crime should be sentenced to capital punishment and there will be no amnesty for them,” Khamenei said of the poisonings, according to a CBS News report on Monday.
The comments come as Iranian officials in recent weeks have begun to acknowledge the poisonings, which began last year and have sickened hundreds of female students across the country.
The attacks have so far targeted more than 50 schools and more than 400 female students in 21 provinces of Iran, with some politicians placing the blame on religious extremist groups that oppose girls’ education.
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Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei holds a live broadcast on state television to mark the birth anniversary of Mawlid al-Nabi or Prophet Muhammad in Tehran, Iran. (Getty Images)
However, little information is known about how the poisonings occurred or whether they were deliberate, and Iran has no history of religious extremists targeting women’s education.
Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi alluded to authorities collecting “suspicious samples” from some of the schools, though he did not elaborate on what was found and instead urged the public to remain calm as he blamed enemies of the regime to try to spread fear.
Meanwhile, parents took to social media to post photos of female students in the emergency room with IVs in their arms, with the girls complaining of headaches, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness and feeling lethargy. Others have described the smell of tangerines, chlorine or detergents.
“Suddenly a bad smell spread, I felt dizzy and fell to the floor,” said one student, according to CBS.
Female students attend a National Students Day ceremony at Tehran University in Tehran, Iran. (West Asia News Agency)/Distribution via REUTERS)
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Reports of attacks continued over the weekend, with a female student complaining that she “felt nauseous and intense pain in her chest” and that her “legs were numb” following a suspected attack.
An emergency physician at a hospital in the western city of Borujerd, where one of the suspected attacks took place, said “most of the students suffered from symptoms such as headaches, breathing problems, lethargy, nausea and low blood pressure.”
The alleged attacks also come amid months of protests over the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for being found in violation of the country’s headgear laws. Some of these protests have also been joined by female students, with New York-based Iranian-American activist Masih Alinejad saying the girls were now “paying the price” for their outspoken behavior.
“Now Iranian girls are paying the price for fighting against compulsory hijab and being poisoned by the government,” Alinejad said on Twitter.
Protesters in Iran are shouting in the streets. (Credit: NCRI)
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Maryam Rajavi, the chairman-elect of Iran’s National Council of Resistance, took aim at Khamenei’s response on social media on Monday, claiming the supreme leader is attempting to pin blame for the poisonings.
“Late, Khamenei has woken up and is looking for others to blame for poisoning female students out of fear of a riot,” Rajavi said. “But there is no one to blame but himself and the agencies and elements under his command. Otherwise Khamenei has to accept a visit from an international fact-finding mission that we have asked the United Nations to form since day one. In the meantime , we must step up our protests and demonstrations.”
Authorities have tried to assure parents they are taking the matter seriously, with Iranian Education Minister Yousef Nouri telling state television on Sunday that he fully understands the parents’ concerns and is following the matter seriously.
Meanwhile, Grand Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli has called on officials to “resolve the problem as quickly as possible … to reassure the nation.”
“It is frightening to note that the origin of the student poisoning has not yet been determined,” he said.
