Iranian Govt Blames Protest Leaders for 'Poisoning Attacks'

Hundreds of cases of respiratory distress have been reported in the past three months among schoolgirls across Iran (AFP)
Hundreds of cases of respiratory distress have been reported in the past three months among schoolgirls across Iran (AFP)
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Iranian Govt Blames Protest Leaders for 'Poisoning Attacks'

Hundreds of cases of respiratory distress have been reported in the past three months among schoolgirls across Iran (AFP)
Hundreds of cases of respiratory distress have been reported in the past three months among schoolgirls across Iran (AFP)

The Iranian government accused the protest leaders of the mystery poisoning incidents in schools, affecting thousands of female students.

Iranian Government Spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi blamed the protesters for creating tensions in girls' schools and a tense atmosphere, but they failed.

Asked about the investigation of the follow-up committee ordered by the Iranian president, the spokesman said that the situation has stabilized in schools, adding that these brutal attacks revealed the truth about some people who claim to support and develop women.

Judiciary Spokesman Masoud Setayeshi criticized the description of the attacks as "poisoning," saying it was better to use a term that describes the deterioration in health. He indicated that poisoning must have determined symptoms identified by the specialized laboratories.

Setayeshi said that the authorities arrested eight people in the southern Fars governorate in connection with the attacks that began at the end of November.

He added that the investigation results would be announced, asserting that those who threaten the security of the people will face the most severe penalties.

Meanwhile, senior officials used the word "poisoning," including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, when referring to the incidents.

Khamenei said on Monday that poisoning schoolgirls are an "unforgivable" crime that should be punished by death if deliberate.

Iranian official sources said that the mysterious cases of poisoning in the country amounted to 13,000 suspected cases, including 100 young schoolgirls, who are now receiving treatment in hospitals, according to Tasnim news agency affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Last Saturday, the Human Rights Committee of the Iranian judiciary said in a report that less than 10 percent of the female students were infected with an irritant of dangerous and non-lethal war gases.

Furthermore, a member of the parliamentary fact-finding committee, Mohammed Hasan Asafari, said that the main culprits in the case had not been arrested, noting that some of the poisonings were due to the use of "naphthalene" and "aluminum phosphide.",

Asafari that some cases were due to the students' attempts to disrupt the school day, noting that 100 persons have been arrested, including students.

He told the state-run ISNA news agency that some detainees were linked to the recent protests that rocked the country after the death of a young Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, while in the custody of morality police.

The lawmaker said that the involvement of the foreign intelligence services is still not apparent, and the matter is under investigation.

Asfari confirmed the attacks dropped after the Supreme Leader's speech last week.

On Monday, the Interior Ministry said that more than 100 people involved in the recent school incidents had been identified, arrested, and under investigation.



UN Says Two Iran Nuclear Sites Destroyed in Israel Strikes

Few pedestrians walk along the historic Grand Bazaar as most shops remain shuttered, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP) 
Few pedestrians walk along the historic Grand Bazaar as most shops remain shuttered, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP) 
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UN Says Two Iran Nuclear Sites Destroyed in Israel Strikes

Few pedestrians walk along the historic Grand Bazaar as most shops remain shuttered, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP) 
Few pedestrians walk along the historic Grand Bazaar as most shops remain shuttered, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP) 

The UN nuclear watchdog said Israeli strikes on Wednesday destroyed two buildings making centrifuge components for Iran's nuclear program near Tehran, while Iran said it fired hypersonic missiles as the arch foes traded fire for a sixth day.

Hours after US President Donald Trump demanded Iran's surrender, supreme leader Ali Khamenei vowed his country would show "no mercy" towards Israel's leadership.

Khamenei, in power since 1989 and the final arbiter of all matters of state in Iran, was to deliver a televised speech Wednesday.

Trump insists the United States has played no part in ally Israel's bombing campaign, but also warned his patience was wearing thin.

The long-range blitz began Friday, when Israel launched a massive bombing campaign that prompted Iran to respond with missiles and drones.

After the Israeli military issued a warning for civilians to leave one district of Tehran for their safety, Israeli warplanes hit the capital early Wednesday.

"More than 50 Israeli Air Force fighter jets... carried out a series of air strikes in the Tehran area over the past few hours," the Israeli military said, adding that several weapons manufacturing facilities were hit.

"As part of the broad effort to disrupt Iran's nuclear weapons development program, a centrifuge production facility in Tehran was targeted."

Centrifuges are vital for uranium enrichment, the sensitive process that can produce fuel for reactors or, in highly extended form, the core of a nuclear warhead.

The strikes destroyed two buildings making centrifuge components for Iran's nuclear program in Karaj, a satellite city of Tehran, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday.

In another strike on a site in Tehran, "one building was hit where advanced centrifuge rotors were manufactured and tested", the agency added in a post on X.

After a prolonged shadow war, Israel said its surprise air campaign was aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons -- an ambition Tehran denies.

The UN nuclear watchdog said there appeared to have been "direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls" at Iran's Natanz facility.

Israel has maintained ambiguity regarding its own atomic activities, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) says it has 90 nuclear warheads.

The conflict derailed a running series of nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington, with Iran saying after the start of Israel's campaign that it would not negotiate with the United States while under attack.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump had a critical role to play in restarting diplomacy with Iran, where any attempts at "regime change" would bring "chaos".