Iran Schoolgirls Poisoned

Twenty Iranian schoolgirls were hospitalised on Tuesday after the latest in a mysterious wave of poisoning attacks that have sickened thousands of pupils, state media reported.

More than 5,000 Iranian schoolchildren have been affected by a spate of poisonings that has targeted mainly female pupils since late November, according to a lawmaker investigating the cases.

"Authorities should seriously pursue the issue of students' poisoning," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told state media.

Worried parents protested in Iran's capital Tehran and other cities on Saturday over a wave of suspected poison attacks that have affected schoolgirls in dozens of schools, according to Iranian news agencies and social media videos.

Hundreds of Iranian girls in different schools have suffered "mild poison" attacks over recent months, the health minister said, with some politicians suggesting they could have been targeted by religious groups opposed to girls' education.

An Iranian deputy minister on Sunday said "some people" were poisoning schoolgirls in the holy city of Qom with the aim of shutting down education for girls, state media reported.

Twenty Iranian schoolgirls were hospitalised on Tuesday after the latest in a mysterious wave of poisoning attacks that have sickened thousands of pupils, state media reported.

More than 5,000 Iranian schoolchildren have been affected by a spate of poisonings that has targeted mainly female pupils since late November, according to a lawmaker investigating the cases.

"Authorities should seriously pursue the issue of students' poisoning," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told state media.

Worried parents protested in Iran's capital Tehran and other cities on Saturday over a wave of suspected poison attacks that have affected schoolgirls in dozens of schools, according to Iranian news agencies and social media videos.

Hundreds of Iranian girls in different schools have suffered "mild poison" attacks over recent months, the health minister said, with some politicians suggesting they could have been targeted by religious groups opposed to girls' education.

An Iranian deputy minister on Sunday said "some people" were poisoning schoolgirls in the holy city of Qom with the aim of shutting down education for girls, state media reported.