Iranian schoolgirls mass poisoning reports: Difference between revisions

The Iranian schoolgirls mass poisoning reports are a series of alleged chemical attacks during which students in dozens of schools in Iran were reportedly poisoned in various and undetermined manners. These events started in November 2022, at the Isfahan University of Technology.^[1] Afterwards, hundreds of students were reportedly poisoned, the majority being in girls first and second secondary schools across Iran.

It has been suggested that the affected girls may actually be suffering from mass psychogenic illness (MPI), and that this is another outbreak similar to 'poisonings' previously reported, but later identified as MPI, in both Afghanistan and the occupied West Bank.^[2][3]

Speculation about possible perpetrators includes: the Iranian government, seeking revenge for the protests against compulsory hijab which intensified following to the death of Mahsa Amini;^[4][5] Iranian hardliners who want to emulate Afghanistan's Taliban; or a militant Islamist group similar to Nigeria's Boko Haram, who tried to stop parents from sending their girls to school.^[6]

Robert Bartholomew suggested that the people affected may have been suffering from "mass psychogenic illness". He drew a parallel between the reported poisonings in Iran and those recorded in Afghanistan from 2009-2016, as well as the 1983 West Bank fainting epidemic. In all of these cases young Islamic girls fell ill from a mystery condition that was attributed to poison gas after someone drew attention to an unusual odor. With respect to the Afghanistan case, different studies concluded that the affected girls, who were attending schools in defiance of the Taliban, were suffering from mass psychogenic illness.^[2][3]

Simon Wessely of King's College indicated that key epidemiological factors point to this being a case of mass psychogenic illness. Some factors mentioned were, how cases spread across Iran, the fact predominantly only young people of a single gender reported problems, and the quick recovery of most people affected.^[7]

Chemical weapons expert and at the Royal United Services Institute, Dan Kaszeta, said that the incidents have similarities with a series of unproven poisonings in Afghan schools in the 2010s.^[7] A professor of environmental toxicology at the University of Leeds, Alastair Hay, reviewed blood tests results from Iranian girls, and found no evidence of toxins.^[7]

According to studies, outbreaks of mass psychogenic illness, which are a constellation of physical signs and symptoms suggestive of organic illness with no identifiable causes, unrealistic and exaggerated rumors and inadequate explanations about the nature and spread of the disease were the main factors contributing to the spread and prolongation of the epidemic. Organized interventions, clear and adequate explanations about the nature and transmission of the disease can stop MPI in a short time.^[8]

In February 2023, Alireza Monadi, the head of the Education, Research and Technology Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, announced that nitrogen gas (N₂) was detected in the poison used at some of the schools.^[9] While nitrogen gas (which makes up the majority of the atmosphere) was originally claimed by the Iranian government as the cause of the poisonings, Morteza Khatami, Vice-Chairman of the Parliament's Health and Treatment Commission, later stated in March 2023 that "(N₂) gas does not explain the symptoms and clinical manifestations, but other gases have symptoms that justify the numbness of the body."^[10]

In early March 2023, chemical weapons expert Dan Kaszeta said it will be difficult to find reliable evidence of any type of poison used, due to toxic substances commonly degrading before any reasonable opportunity to collect a sample at the scene. Kaszeta also said that biomedical tests, such as blood and urine screening, "could indicate a type of poison used, but are complicated by a number of possible alternative culprits".^[7]

Investigations into the poisoning reports have been inconclusive.

In response to these incidents, Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, said that if it is proven that the students were poisoned, "those behind this crime should be sentenced to capital punishment and there will be no amnesty for them."^[11] Bahram Eynollahi, the Minister of Health, claimed that a "mild poison" was used against female students in Iranian schools.^[12]

Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi ordered that the series of incidents at some 30 schools since November be investigated. Officials have changed their stance from initially dismissing the incidents to acknowledging the scope of the crisis.^[13][14]

According to IRNA, the parliament’s speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said that both Qom and Borujerd were "dealing with student poisonings".^[15]

The deputy health minister of Iran, Younes Panahi, said the aim of the poisonings was to shut down education for girls. He was quoted as saying "After the poisoning of several students in Qom schools, it was found that some people wanted all schools, especially girls’ schools, to be closed".^[16] Panahi also said that "in around 90 percent of the cases symptoms were caused by stress and anxiety when other students fell ill or caused by media reports of the poisonings."^[15]

On 7 March it was reported that Yousef Nouri, the Iranian minister of education, said that "95% of the girls going to hospitals or medical centres had no medical problem – only fear and worry – while a few had underlying diseases."^[17]

In the first three months of the attacks, no solid information was uncovered about the type of poison gas that may have been used. Complaints have included nausea, vomiting, cough, shortness of breath, heart palpitations and feeling lethargic.^[10][18] Some also reported that they smelled a tangerine-like smell.^[9]

• On an unspecified date in November: "Some students" from Isfahan University of Technology reported to a clinic with symptoms which included heartburn, diarrhea, and vomiting. According to the university’s president, initially 270 students showed symptoms, but eventually some 600 were affected.^[1]

• 30 November: 18 students at the Noor Girls’ Conservatory in Yazdanshahr, Qom, reported symptoms of shortness of breath and numbness in the arms and legs.^[1]

• 1 December: The country’s students’ trade union council said that a large number of students of this university suffered symptoms due to food poisoning from the night before. The chief justice of Alborz Province stated that 160 students were affected. According to the ISNA news agency, in less than 10 days, more than 1,200 students (from various schools) "went to medical centers with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, heartache and dizziness".^[1]

• 13 December (22 Azar): Again at the Noor Girls’ Conservatory in Yazdanshahr, Qom, 51 female students reported symptoms and went to the hospital. Public Relations of Qom Education announced that experts were investigating the cause.^[1]

• 7 March: The government of Iran reported for the first time that an undisclosed number of suspects had been arrested in relation to the alleged poisonings. Also on this day, The Guardian reported that the count of affected students stood at 7,068 in at least 103 schools from 99 cities, and that the record for daily attacks stood at 81.^[17]

• List of mass hysteria cases
• Mahsa Amini protests