As schools in Iran reopen after the new year holiday, female students are again being targeted by chemical attacks.

It is not immediately clear who is responsible for the poisonings, but some Iranians suspect that their own government is the likely culprit.

The attacks have targeted schools across the country and students are poisoned by unknown substances that spread through the buildings, according to media reports. Some of the victims have been admitted to hospitals with shortness of breath and other respiratory symptoms.

The poisonings began shortly after the start of a protest movement in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who died in custody after being arrested by Iran’s morality police for failing to wear her hijab properly.

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Itan’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called for those responsible for the poisonings to be identified and punished. (VOA)

•PHOTO:This grab taken from a UGC video made available on the ESN platform on March 4, 2023, shows families gathering and chanting slogans outside an education ministry building in Tehran, following poisoning attacks on students.