Iran’s leader condemns schoolgirls' poisoning, demands death penalty for guilty

 The Islamic Republic of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Hosseini Khamenei, said that the deliberate poisoning of schoolgirls in the country was an unforgivable crime. He slammed the incident and demanded the death penalty for the people who committed the crime. 

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, “The authorities should seriously pursue the issue of students' poisoning.” He further said, "If it is proven deliberate, those perpetrators of this unforgivable crime should be sentenced to capital punishment."

The apparent poisonings of schoolgirls began in November 2022 in the holy Shi'ite Muslim city of Qom in Iran. The incident led to the hospitalization of many students. Subsequently, such incidents spread to 25 of Iran's 31 provinces. More than 1200 schoolgirls suffered due to the rise in such incidents. 

According to a BBC report, schoolgirls have been poisoned by toxic gas in Iran since November. 

Many people believe it was a deliberate attempt to close schools for girls. Reportedly, dozens of schoolgirls have suffered respiratory problems, nausea, dizziness, and fatigue.

According to the state-run IRNA news agency, Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi revealed that some people wanted to shut down education for girls. On Saturday, he said that "suspicious samples" were discovered during the investigation of the case. Iranian deputy health minister, Younes Panahi, also slammed the incident. Iranian authorities also found a fuel tanker next to a school in Tehran, the capital of Iran. 

Recently, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Sayyid Ebrahim Raisolsadati, blamed foreign enemies for the alleged poisoning of schoolgirls. He reportedly said, “This is a security project to cause chaos in the country.”

According to a recent report by Psychology Today, the alleged incident can be psychogenic in nature.

The White House also called for an impartial investigation into the alleged attacks on schoolgirls in Iran. The UN also called for a transparent investigation.