JAKARTA - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Friday blamed a wave of poisoning of hundreds of school students across the country on Tehran's enemies.
A wave of poisoning that has so far not been explained in more than 30 schools, in at least four cities began in November in Iran's Shia holy city Qom, which prompted some parents to remove their children from school.
Iran's Health Minister said on Tuesday hundreds of girls in various schools had suffered. Some politicians say they may be targeted by religious groups opposing girls' education.
President Raisi spoke in front of a crowd in southern Iran on Friday in a speech broadcast live by state television, blaming the poisoning on Iranian enemies.
"This is a security project to create chaos in the country, where the enemy tries to instill fear and insecurity among parents and students," he said.
He did not say who these enemies were, although Iranian leaders usually accused the United States and Israel, among others, of being the party acting against him.
Separately, a senior Iranian official said a fuel tanker truck found next to a school on the outskirts of Tehran and which was also found in two other cities, may be involved in the poisoning.
Authorities confiscated the tank truck and arrested its driver, Reza Karimi Saleh, deputy governor of the outskirts of Pardis, told the Tasnim semi-official news agency.
He was the first government official to report arrests in connection with a wave of poisoning.
He said the same tank truck had also visited Qom and Boroujerd, in Loresan Province, western Iran, where students also suffered from poisoning. He did not explain further.
"The guards in the parking lot where the fuel tank truck was parked also suffered from poisoning," Saleh said, referring to the Pardis website.
In Geneva, the United Nations (UN) human rights office on Friday called for a transparent investigation into the attacks.
"We are deeply concerned by the allegation that girls are deliberately targeted in a mysterious situation," Ravina Shamdasani, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said at a press conference.
He said findings from government investigations must be made public and the perpetrators must be tried.
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