In the Cauldron, Boil and Bake

Listen to Today's Edition:

Dozens of schoolgirls were poisoned at schools across Iran, local media said over the weekend, as the attacks that have rattled the Islamic Republic for months continue even amid an aggressive investigation by authorities, Agence France-Presse reported.

Officials and local media said instances of poisonings took place in at least three provinces, with the girls displaying various symptoms, including headaches and shortness of breath.

At least 60 students were poisoned in a girls’ school in the oil-rich southwestern province of Khuzestan, a local official told the state television’s IRIB news agency.

Since November, numerous schools in Iran – primarily for female students – have experienced sudden incidents of poisoning from toxic gases or substances that have sometimes caused fainting and hospitalization.

Early last month, authorities said they estimate that “more than 5,000 students” have been affected by these attacks at more than 230 schools or other facilities, located in 25 of the country’s 31 provinces.

The country’s leaders have called for “severe sentences,” including the death penalty for those responsible.

The incidents began just two months after the start of the women-led mass protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who died in police custody following her arrest for allegedly violating Iran’s strict Islamic dress code.

Some in Iran believe that conservatives opposed to girls’ education may be behind the poisonings, according to the Bangkok Post.

Separately, Iranian police announced Saturday it will implement “smart” technology to identify women who violate the country’s hijab law. Officials added that the move is aimed at “preventing resistance against the hijab law,” noting that such defiance tarnishes Iran’s spiritual image and spreads insecurity.

Last month, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei, the head of the judiciary, declared that “removing (one’s) hijab amounts to enmity toward values and people who commit such abnormality will be punished.”