Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi blamed the enemies of Iran in the poisoning case of hundreds of high school girls nationwide.
Raisi commented for the first time on the incident saying: "This is a security project to cause chaos in the country whereby the enemy seeks to instill fear and insecurity among parents and students."
The president did not say who those enemies were, although Iranian leaders occasionally accuse the United States and Israel, among others, of acting against it.
Iran had blamed Western countries for fueling the protests that swept across Iran after the death of the young Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, while she was in detention at the morality police.
Iranian Health Minister Bahram Eynollahi said Tuesday that hundreds of girls in different schools suffered from poisoning. Some politicians suggested that they may be targeted by groups opposed to girls' education.
- Arrests
Fars and Tasnim news agencies published a video recording of a truck driver arrested by the authorities on the pretext of spreading toxic substances near a school.
The Iranian Ministry of Interior denied reports of arrests.
A top official at Pardis suburb in northeastern Tehran said that a fuel tanker found near a school was also spotted in two other cities and is likely to be involved in the poisonings. He stated that the authorities seized the tanker and arrested its driver, according to Reuters, quoting Tasnim Agency.
He said the same tanker had also been to Qom and Boroujerd, in Lorestan Province in western Iran, where students have also suffered from poisoning. He did not elaborate.
- Public discontent
The issue sparked outrage in the country, with some deploring the authorities' silence over the increasing number of schools at risk.
During Friday prayer, the top Sunni leader in Iran, AbdolHamid Ismail Zahi, said that many believe the poisonings are part of the suppressions against protests.
Zahi warned the authorities that the attacks on schools would lead to general discontent among Iranians, describing the poisonings as "inhuman and anti-Islamic hostility" towards females.
He criticized the Iranian authorities for "lying" about killing protesters and the poison gas attacks on girls' schools. He wondered how officials and security agencies knew everything and couldn't solve who was poising the girls.
The cleric warned that the girls who participated in the protests were now facing this treatment, urging an end to such behavior.
- Tehran is required to investigate
In Geneva, the United Nations High Commissioner (UNHCR) for Human Rights called for a transparent investigation into the attacks.
UNHCR spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said in a press briefing: "We're very concerned about these allegations that girls are being deliberately targeted under what appear to be mysterious circumstances."
She said the findings of a government investigation should be made public and the perpetrators brought to justice.
Furthermore, the World Health Organization (WHO) spokeswoman Margaret Harris said the agency contacted national health authorities and medical professionals about these incidents while "using other means to understand more about the event so that we have better evidence."
Additionally, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that reports of poison attacks targeting schoolgirls in Iran are shocking and must be thoroughly investigated, voicing US concerns.
"Girls must be able to go to school without fear," Baerbock tweeted, adding: "This is nothing less than their human right. All cases must be fully investigated."
