European Parliament has turned into Iran-bashing venue, Tehran says

Iran's Foreign Ministry has criticized "baseless" accusations leveled by European lawmakers about the suspected poisoning of students in the country's schools, saying the European Parliament has turned into a platform for hatemongering against Iran.

In a statement on Friday, spokesman Nasser Kan'ani reacted to the "suspicious events" related to the sickness of girls in some schools in the country.

"While the Islamic Republic of Iran is seriously and at the highest level pursing the issue and expert teams of the [Iranian] Health Ministry are doing a field and scientific investigation, the European Parliament’s move to issue a resolution and repeat baseless accusations against our country is surprising and regrettable," Kan'ani said.

It is embarrassing that some countries are using measures by mercenaries and agents of this crime as a tool to tarnish the image of Iran and wage a propaganda campaign against the Islamic Republic, he said.

Kan'ani said such countries are also using the issue as a "new subject" to continue their endless enmities toward Iran.

"Unfortunately, the European Parliament has turned into a platform for these suspicious and extremist figures with the purpose of spewing hate against the Iranian people and spreading the Iranophobic project," Kan'ani stated.

Mysterious serial poisonings in Iran new propaganda fodder for West

There has been no fatality from serial poisonings so far, and its cause remains shrouded in mystery, being investigated by relevant organizations.

European lawmakers issued a statement on Thursday, calling on the UN Human Rights Council to conduct an independent investigation into a wave of poisonings that have hit schoolgirls in Iran. The motion was passed by 516 votes in favor, five against and 14 abstentions.

Since November 2022, some Iranian students have reported symptoms of poisoning while in school. The outbreak started in the central city of Qom before expanding to other cities. In most cases, students suffered respiratory problems, nausea, fatigue and dizziness, while some were hospitalized.

The remarks come a few days after Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the poisoning was an “unforgivable and big” crime, calling on authorities to seriously pursue the issue.

Iran arrests several people over mysterious poisonings of schoolgirls

Iran says it has arrested several people in connection with the recent suspected poisonings of schoolgirls.

Kan'ani further said that the initial findings of Iran's judicial officials indicated that some perpetrators of this crime have been identified.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman said the highest-ranking Iranian officials have condemned the inhumane act and urged a thorough investigation into the issue and the harshest punishment of the perpetrators.

He said the Islamic Republic was determined to "make its utmost efforts to probe into the events regardless of any pressure and psychological warfare." Iran would "spare no efforts to identify the perpetrators and orchestrators of these criminal events and bring them to justice."

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