Iran Arrests 100 People Over Female Students’ Poisoning

An Iranian schoolgirl receives treatment after being exposed to toxic substances at school. (Reuters)
An Iranian schoolgirl receives treatment after being exposed to toxic substances at school. (Reuters)
TT
20

Iran Arrests 100 People Over Female Students’ Poisoning

An Iranian schoolgirl receives treatment after being exposed to toxic substances at school. (Reuters)
An Iranian schoolgirl receives treatment after being exposed to toxic substances at school. (Reuters)

The Iranian authorities announced the arrest of more than 100 people as part of an investigation into a series of poisonings of thousands of schoolgirls that sparked outrage in the country.

In a statement published by the official IRNA news agency, the Interior Ministry said that more than 100 suspects were arrested for their involvement in the recent school accidents.

The ministry did not give details about the people who were arrested in several governorates, including in Tehran and Qom (north), East and West Azerbaijan (northwest), and the provinces of Kurdistan and Hamadan (west).

Among those arrested, the ministry said, were “individuals who have had hostile motives, tried to trigger fear and horror among people and students, shut down schools, and created pessimism toward” the Iranian government.

They would remain “under investigation until required assurances are achieved,” the statement added, noting that the number of poisoning cases at girls’ schools across the country had been decreasing “over the past several days.”

The statement pointed at possible links to the Iranian opposition group that Tehran considers a “terrorist” organization, the People's Mujahedin of Iran or Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK).

Shahin Gobadi, Paris-based spokesman for the MEK, told AFP that the accusations were “a ridiculous show to cover up the role of the institutions under Khamenei’s command in this big crime” and urged Tehran to accept an international investigation.

“The crime of poisoning thousands of schoolgirls... is the work of no one but the clerical regime and its security and repressive apparatus,” he said in a statement to AFP.

This is the second statement issued by the authorities in a week. On Tuesday, Iran announced arrests in 5 governorates. Deputy Interior Minister Majid Mirahmadi accused “the perpetrators of the girls’ poisoning” of wanting to “close schools” and “blame the system” in order to “revive dormant riots”.



Florida Man Shot Israeli Visitors Thinking They Were Palestinians, Police Say

 Relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza mark 500 days of their captivity by spreading a massive Israeli flag depicting an hourglass in the Mediterranean Sea, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Hebrew of the flag reads "Without the abductees, Israel runs out". (AP)
Relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza mark 500 days of their captivity by spreading a massive Israeli flag depicting an hourglass in the Mediterranean Sea, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Hebrew of the flag reads "Without the abductees, Israel runs out". (AP)
TT
20

Florida Man Shot Israeli Visitors Thinking They Were Palestinians, Police Say

 Relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza mark 500 days of their captivity by spreading a massive Israeli flag depicting an hourglass in the Mediterranean Sea, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Hebrew of the flag reads "Without the abductees, Israel runs out". (AP)
Relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza mark 500 days of their captivity by spreading a massive Israeli flag depicting an hourglass in the Mediterranean Sea, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Hebrew of the flag reads "Without the abductees, Israel runs out". (AP)

A Florida man was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder after shooting at a vehicle with two men who he thought were Palestinians but turned out to be Israeli visitors, local authorities and media reports said.

The website of Miami-Dade County Corrections says the suspect, 27-year-old Mordechai Brafman, was charged with two counts of attempted murder and booked on Sunday for the shooting on Saturday.

A police official confirmed earlier reports from local media that Brafman said in an interview with police that while he was driving his truck in Miami Beach, he saw two people he thought were Palestinian. He stopped, shot at and killed them.

However, the victims survived. One was shot in the shoulder and the other had a wounded forearm. They turned out to be Israeli visitors and not Palestinians, police said.

A representative or lawyer for Brafman could not be immediately identified by Reuters.

Human rights advocates say there has been a rise in anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian and antisemitic hate in the United States since the start of US ally Israel's war in Gaza following an Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Palestinian group Hamas.