US calls on Iran for "credible and independent" investigation into schoolgirl poisoning

MADRID, 7 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The United States has asked Iran to carry out a "credible and independent" investigation into the poisoning of dozens of school girls in the country, events it has described as "unacceptable" and "shameful."

This was expressed during a press conference by the White House spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierre, who has warned that if the poisonings are related to the participation of the students in the protests, then the UN should open an independent international investigation .

"We are closely monitoring this deeply worrying situation that we are currently seeing in Iran. The continued poisoning of schoolgirls throughout Iran is inconceivable," Jean-Pierre said, urging Tehran to carry out a credible and independent investigation and to make the responsible are held accountable.

The White House spokeswoman has stressed that women and girls around the world "have a fundamental right to education", which is why the possibility that they have been poisoned for receiving an education would be "shameful".

Jean-Pierre's statements come after hundreds of girls have suffered from respiratory conditions in the last three months, mainly in the city of Qom, south of Tehran, some of whom have had to be hospitalized.

Until now, the Iranian authorities have dismissed this wave of attacks against students as "a plot by the enemies to provoke unrest among the population" and have affirmed that they are "crimes against humanity."

The total number of poisonings is unknown, but in recent days there have been dozens of young people hospitalized after recognizing a bitter smell and feeling nauseated and dizzy. In the Khuzestan region alone, in the south of the country, the authorities have counted 770 affected students, of whom 500 have been discharged after treatment, 200 are under observation, and the rest have just been admitted.

The first poisonings were reported more than two months ago at a school located in Qom, the capital of the province of the same name, where at least 51 students had to be hospitalized for possible inhalation poisoning. These cases have also been registered in other parts of the country.