Hundreds of girls poisoned in Iran to stop them from going to school

Parents protest against poisoning of their children in Iran

Girls are being deliberately poisoned in Iran using “chemical compounds” to keep them out of schools, according to a minister.

Iran’s deputy health minister Younes Panahi on Sunday said that “certain individuals sought the closure of all schools, especially girls’ schools”, without providing further details.

Hundreds of cases of respiratory poisoning have been reported among schoolgirls since November last year, mainly in the theological city of Qom. The poisonings have led to the hospitalisation of dozens of girls.