The general state of the students is evolving favourably, he specified. The media also reported new cases of poisoning in at least three establishments in Tehran.
In a secondary school in Tehransar, in the west of the capital, the students were intoxicated by the projection of a kind of spray,” the Fars press agency said, citing the parents of the students.
According to estimates by the spokeswoman for the parliamentary committee on Health, Zahra Sheikhi, nearly 800 students have been affected since the first cases of respiratory poisoning in late November in the holy city of Qom and another 400 in Borujerd (west ).
The results of the tests, provided by the Ministry of Health and cited by a deputy, show that the toxic substance used in Qom was composed mainly of nitrogen-based gases, used in industry or as agricultural fertilizers.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raissi yesterday instructed Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi to “follow up the case as soon as possible” and “inform” the public about the investigation to “allay the concerns of the families,” according to the presidential website. .
Vahidi told the press that the authorities were still investigating those possibly responsible for the poisonings, but that no arrests had yet been made.
“So far, we do not have a definitive report that a specific substance of a toxic nature was used” to poison the students, he added.
The Ministry of Health explained on Sunday that “some individuals” sought, with these actions, “to close all schools, particularly girls’ schools.”
In 2014, people took to the streets of the city of Isfahan after a wave of acid attacks, which appeared to be aimed at terrorizing women who violated the country’s strict Islamic dress code.
“If the acid attack officers had been identified and punished then, a group of reactionaries would not have joined our innocent girls in schools today,” reformist politician Azar Mansoori tweeted.
Several senior clerics, lawmakers and politicians have criticized the government for failing to end poison attacks and for giving conflicting reasons, with some warning that frustration among families could spark more protests.
Source: Ambito
