BERLIN: The United Nations backed a call from Germany’s foreign minister on Friday urging a full and transparent investigation into the reported poisoning of hundreds of schoolgirls in Iran.

On the other hand, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi blamed ‘enemies’ for the poisonings.

“This is a security project to cause chaos in the country whereby the enemy seeks to instill fear and insecurity among parents and students,” he said while addressing a rally in southern Iran.

Hundreds of cases of respiratory distress have been reported in the past three months among schoolgirls in what one Iranian official said could be an attempt to force the closure of girls’ schools in the country. “The reports of schoolgirls being poisoned in Iran are shocking,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Twitter.

“Girls must be able to go to school without fear — whether in Tehran or Ardabil. This is nothing less than their human right,” Baerbock said.

“All the cases must be fully investigated,” she said.

In Geneva, the UN rights office also voiced alarm at the poisoning allegations.

“We are very concerned about these allegations that girls are being deliberately targeted under what appear to be mysterious circumstances,” spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2023