EU Resolution Demanding Probe into Poisoning Incidents Angers Iran's Foreign Ministry

Representatives of the European Parliament participate in a previous session (EPA)
Representatives of the European Parliament participate in a previous session (EPA)
TT

EU Resolution Demanding Probe into Poisoning Incidents Angers Iran's Foreign Ministry

Representatives of the European Parliament participate in a previous session (EPA)
Representatives of the European Parliament participate in a previous session (EPA)

The Iranian Foreign Ministry strongly criticized the European Parliament resolution to demand an international investigation into the poisoning of schools in dozens of Iranian cities.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani expressed his surprise at the position of the European Parliament, adding that, unfortunately, the EU Parliament has turned into a platform for "suspicious and extremist figures with the aim of spewing hate against the people of Iran and for the Iranophobic project."

The spokesman added that senior officials in Iran strongly condemned this inhumane act, and ordered a comprehensive investigation into the issue, demanding the identification of the perpetrators.

On Thursday, the European Parliament called on the United Nations to investigate the poisoning of thousands of schoolgirls in Iran, condemning the regime's months-long failure to act on and deliberate suppression of credible reports of systematic toxic attacks against schoolgirls.

Members of the European Parliament overwhelmingly endorsed a non-binding resolution urging the Human Rights Council to launch an investigation into the facts and calling "for those responsible to be held to account."

The resolution called on the Iranian authorities to grant full access to the UN IIFFM and the UN Special Rapporteur on the country's human rights situation.

State media and officials reported that 13,000 schoolchildren, primarily girls, have fallen ill after what are believed to be "poisonings."

Some politicians accused religious groups that oppose girls' education.

Reports of poisonings emerged two months after the protest began after the death of the young woman, Mahsa Amini, after the morality police arrested her.

Last week, the Interior Ministry said that more than 100 people had been detained across 11 provinces on suspicion of taking part in the recent poisonings.

Authorities arrested the suspects and launched an investigation.

The Ministry said that among those arrested were people and students aiming to close the schools and create skepticism towards the state.

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.

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 or "fatigue."

He indicated that poisoning must have determined symptoms identified by the specialized laboratories.



Trump Says He Might Demand Panama Hand over Canal

This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)
TT

Trump Says He Might Demand Panama Hand over Canal

This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)

President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday accused Panama of charging excessive rates for use of the Panama Canal and said that if Panama did not manage the canal in an acceptable fashion, he would demand the US ally hand it over.

In an evening post on Truth Social, Trump also warned he would not let the canal fall into the "wrong hands," and he seemed to warn of potential Chinese influence on the passage, writing the canal should not be managed by China.

The post was an exceedingly rare example of a US leader saying he could push a sovereign country to hand over territory. It also underlines an expected shift in US diplomacy under Trump, who has not historically shied away from threatening allies and using bellicose rhetoric when dealing with counterparts.

The United States largely built the canal and administrated territory surrounding the passage for decades. But the US government fully handed control of the canal to Panama in 1999 after a period of joint administration.

"The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the US," Trump wrote in his Truth Social post.

"It was not given for the benefit of others, but merely as a token of cooperation with us and Panama. If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question."

The Panamanian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.