- Up to 900 Iranian school girls have been victims of suspected mass poisoning in recent months.
- Dozens have been hospitalized in the past week.
- Iran's president blamed the unexplained bouts of respiratory distress on the Islamic state's "enemies."
Up to 900 Iranian school girls have been victims of a mysterious suspected mass poisoning over the last three months.
Dozens more girls have been admitted to hospital with respiratory distress in the last few days, according to The Guardian.
On Friday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi blamed the unexplained suspected school poisonings, which have happened in multiple locations, on the Islamic state's "enemies" but did not clarify who that was.
"This is a security project to cause chaos in the country whereby the enemy seeks to instill fear and insecurity among parents and students," Raisi said, per Reuters.
The health minister has previously said that the culprits could be religious groups opposed to girls receiving an education, according to Reuters.
One arrest has so far been made in connection to the suspected poisonings, with authorities saying the suspect was the driver of a fuel tanker parked next to a Tehran school.
Reza Karimi Saleh, deputy governor of Pardis suburb where the arrest was made, said workers in the parking lot where the tanker was found were also appeared to have been poisoned.
Speaking on Thursday, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said that it is "deeply concerning news," adding that "little girls going to school should only have to worry about learning. They shouldn't have to worry about their own physical safety."
Kirby added that "we don't know right now what caused those ailments. We see reports that the Iranian government is investigating it.
"That's the right course of action."