admin

In connection with the mysterious poisonings of thousands of schoolgirls, Iran has said that it has made more than 100 arrests around the country, alleging that the as-yet-unidentified suspected culprits may have ties to “hostile” parties.

Since late November, schoolgirls have reported “unpleasant” odors on school grounds and have experienced a wave of symptoms including fainting, nausea, shortness of breath, and other symptoms. Some of these cases have required hospital treatment.

The interior ministry reportedly announced the arrests late Saturday, according to state media, following the suspected poison attacks in more than 200 schools that have alarmed and infuriated students and their parents.

“More than 100 people who were responsible for the recent school incidents were identified, arrested, and investigated,” the ministry said in a statement, carried by state news agency , IRNA.

“Among those arrested are people with hostile motives and with the aim of instilling terror in the people and students and to close schools.”

The ministry added that “fortunately, from the middle of the last week until today, the number of incidents in schools has decreased significantly, and there have been no reports of sick students.”

The statement pointed at possible links to an Albania-based exiled Iranian opposition group that Tehran considers a “terrorist” organisation, the People’s Mujahedin of Iran or Mujahedeen-e-Khalq.

“The investigation of these criminal people, including the discovery of their possible connection with the terrorist organisations such as the MEK and others, is ongoing,” reported IRNA.

The poisonings began two months into the nationwide demonstrations that erupted in Iran after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old ethnic Kurd arrested on suspicion of breaking strict dress codes for women, died on September 16. Mahsa Amini was killed.

These protests, which Iran frequently refers to as “riots,” have been attributed by Iran to hostile forces abroad that are connected to its arch-enemies the United States, Israel, and their supporters.

According to the most recent official count, more than 5,000 students have been impacted at over 230 schools located in 25 of Iran’s 31 provinces.

The ministry reported that arrests were made in the northern provinces of Tehran, Qom, and Gilan; the northeastern province of Razavi Khorasan; the northwest provinces of West Azerbaijan, East Azerbaijan, and Zanjan; the western provinces of Kurdistan and Hamadan; the southwest province of Khuzestan; and the southern province of Fars.

Last Monday, the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei demanded that those responsible for the unforgivable atrocity be apprehended without mercy.

The National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) Renewal Group has advised opposition groups protesting Sen. Bola Tinubu’s announcement as the nation’s next president to give up on trying to overturn his victory.

The group referred to Tinubu’s election as president-elect as the best thing that had ever occurred to Nigeria in recent memory in a statement released on Saturday in Ado-Ekiti.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) attempted to overturn Tinubu’s victory through the tribunal, but Prof. Atilade Adeeyo, the party’s national leader, called their efforts a futile exercise.

The two runners-up in the presidential election on February 25—Mr. Peter Obi of the LP and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the PDP—he claimed—would not succeed in overturning Tinubu’s triumph.

He urged the pair to concede defeat graciously so that the nation could advance.

Adeeyo characterized Tinubu as a patriotic and tactical leader with a potent political network spanning the nation’s six geopolitical zones.

“President-elect, Sen. Bola Tinubu has an impressive track record as a great, patriotic leader.

“He displayed this uncommon leadership trait when he served as the governor of Lagos State.

He claimed that one of the reasons Tinubu won the election was that “all Nigerians admire him for being a beautiful bride.

“He deployed competence and enduring capacities of a pan-Nigeria cabinet in his government to achieve giant strides in Lagos State and we all are witnesses to the awesome development that state has got,’’ he said.

Adeeyo added that Tinubu is adored by the majority of patriotic Nigerians because he builds men up rather than tears them down.

“This is the more reason why Nigerians will experience the best of governance under his watch as president.

“We can also assure our teeming youths to be rest assured that Tinubu will ensure that their yearnings for a greater future is taken care of when he mounts the saddle of power.

“We are standing up for our nation and Nigeria will work again. The families of those that died in the post-annulment of the 1993 presidential election will wish the annulment never happened.

“I speak for thousands of members in the NADECO Renewal Group, and urge Nigerians to allow peace to reign so that we can enjoy the renewed hope promised by the president-elect,’’ Adeeyo added.