Iran Intelligence Ministry: Poisonings at schools not caused by toxic agents, escalated after riots abated

In the statement, the ministry said the Islamic establishment was firmly resolved from the very beginning to decisively deal with those who caused and fueled the incidents.

The statement noted that what was clear about the issue in the schools was that when the riots in Iran abated, the poisonings escalated.

The statement was referring to the protests and deadly riots that happened in Iran a few months ago following the death of a young girl in police custody.

It said that at the beginning of the mission, the Iranian intelligence agents faced four questions about the substance used to make the students feel sick, the humans behind the incidents, the network orchestrating the incidents, and other factors involved in the poisonings.

The Intelligence Ministry said that actually, the cause of the poisonings was not sophisticated nor were the substances used to make the students feel sick toxic agents.

It went on to single out what happened at a school in the northern city of Nour, blaming the incident on a student who released pepper gas at the classroom to force the school authorities to call it a day.

One device, the statement noted, that was used to make students feel sick was what is known as the “smelly bomblet” that can be bought easily online and is usually used to make practical jokes for mere amusement.

The Intelligence Ministry however noted that in some cases, it arrived at the conclusion that those behind the incidents did it deliberately to make the Iranian intelligence and security apparatus appear weak and inefficient.

According to the ministry, the vast majority of those who felt sick following the poisoning incidents were treated on an outpatient basis at medical care centers and a very small number of them were hospitalized.