Teachers In Iran Protest Poison Attacks on Students; NGO Estimates Number of Affected Students Much Higher Than Iranian Media First Reported

Teachers in Iran staged protests in numerous cities over the recent spate of poison attacks aimed mostly at school-aged girls.  The Iranian media originally reported 1,000 students affected by the attacks, however Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRAI) reports numbers far higher of over 7,000 students affected from almost 300 schools in almost 100 cities.  Many believe the attacks are related to recent protests in Iran and have gained international attention with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying, “If these poisonings are related to participation in protests, then it is well within (the) mandate of the U.N. independent international fact-finding mission on Iran to investigate.”