Iranwire – The Iranian government has intensified its crackdown on media and individuals who speak out about a wave of poisonings that has sickened hundreds of students across the country over more than three months. The poisonings, which first affected girls’ schools, have now spread to boys’ schools and university dormitories. On March 6, Tehran prosecutor’s office announced that court cases …

Iranwire – Teachers in Iran’s western Kurdish city of Saqqez went on strike and gathered in front of the Education Department on March 7 to protest a series of poisonings that has sickened hundreds of schoolgirls across the country over more than three months. A member of the Saqqez Trade Union, who is also a teacher, told IranWire that the …

Iranwire – As IranWire has reported, hundreds of Iranians have sustained severe eye injuries after being hit by pellets, tear gas cannisters, paintball bullets or other projectiles used by security forces amid a bloody crackdown on mainly peaceful demonstrations. Doctors say that, as of now, at least 580 protesters have lost one or both eyes in Tehran and in Kurdistan alone. …

Iranwire – In vague statements about a wave of poisonings affecting schoolgirls in multiple cities across Iran, Interior Minister General Ahmad Vahidi said that “suspicious samples” have been sent to “reputable labs” to find the causes of the symptoms observed in the teenagers. He also promised that the test results will be shared with the public as soon as possible. …

VOA – Women violating the Islamic dress code will be punished, Iran’s Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said on Monday, according to the official IRNA news agency, reaffirming the law after months of unrest that brought a deadly security crackdown. “Removing one’s hijab is equivalent to showing enmity to the Islamic Republic and its values. People who engage in such …

CHRI – Twenty prominent human rights lawyers from Iran today published a letter urgently calling for an independent, joint committee—comprised of experts from the world’s top public health, children’s rights, and education-focused UN agencies—to immediately investigate the poison gas attacks against schoolgirls that have occurred across Iran over the last several months. “Due to the Iranian government’s incompetence—or unwillingness—to stop poison gas …

Al-Monitor — The family of a US citizen killed during an Iranian bombing campaign in Iraq’s Kurdistan region has filed a federal lawsuit against the government of Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).  Omar Mahmoudzadeh and at least 12 others were killed when Iran attacked Kurdish areas in neighboring Iraq with a barrage of ballistic missiles and drones on Sept. 28. The IRGC-claimed …

Iranwire – Iran on Monday expressed its readiness for a long-awaited prisoner swap with Belgium, days after the European country’s Constitutional Court gave the green light for such a move. Following the decision “by the Belgian Constitutional Court, we can now say that the way to implement the agreement has been opened, and the Islamic Republic of Iran certainly welcomes this change,” foreign …

Iranwire – A Yemeni official accused Iran of sending “gifts of death” to his war-wracked country as the two sides clashed publicly at a UN summit for poor nations on Monday. Othman Majali harangued Iran, which backs Yemen’s Houthis, during his speech at the Least Developed Countries meeting in Qatar, drawing a terse response from Iranian Vice-President Mohsen Mansouri. The …

Iranwire – It has been more than three months since the first chemical attack on Iranian girls’ schools was carried out. According to the latest official reports, more than 1,000 schoolgirls in 15 Iranian provinces have been poisoned by chemical fumes so far, and the government has revealed nothing about their origin or their nature. IranWire earlier reported that Iranian officials have …