On November 30 2022, 18 Iranian schoolgirls in Qom mysteriously fell ill and were taken to a local hospital where they were treated for gas poisoning. Nearly four months later, on March 1, Twitter was overwhelmed with videos of young women gasping for air and ambulances frantically trying to make their way to school grounds. By the end of the weekend, girls’ schools across at least 10 provinces were reporting gas poisonings. After four months, over 1,000 victims, and one alleged death, Iranian authorities have just made arrests in connection with the attacks. Indeed, it only occurred to the regime to investigate the mass poisonings after heightened media attention. If there was ever a sign that Iran has learned nothing since the start of anti-government protests in September, this is it.
As is typically the case with news from inside Iran, nobody seems to know what’s really going on; statements from the regime’s inner circle about the poisoning’s origins have been contradictory. Several officials have blamed “foreign-based dissident media” for attempting to undermine the Islamic Republic, while others have downplayed the attacks as a psychological reaction induced by stress. Iran’s health ministry said results from a toxicological examination detected nitrogen gas in air samples (a claim dubbed “dumb beyond belief” since the air we breathe is 78 percent nitrogen). Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei finally appeared, calling the attacks an “unforgivable” crime that must be “seriously pursued,” and purporting to be just as dumbfounded as everyone else.
We may never know what or who was responsible for these attacks, not least because transient substances like gas are complicated to track down. And while there may be some credence to claims that government authorities staged the poison attacks themselves in retribution for anti-establishment protests, the regime is likely uninterested in stoking yet another round of civil unrest just as the current movement has begun to lose momentum. Ambiguities aside, what is clear is the Iranian regime’s utter indifference to the safety and health of its own people.
The Biden administration has called on the UN to conduct an investigation into the poisonings, but the regime’s lackadaisical response to these heinous attacks promises little prospect of success for investigators. As with its stonewalling of IAEA investigations, rule of law—whether international or domestic—appears a matter of uninterest to the ayatollahs.
We repeatedly hear that the rights of women are at the forefront of this administration’s concerns. However, it continues to treat Iran’s transgressions in isolation, allowing Iranians to bear the brunt. It’s time the Biden administration finally put its money where its mouth is and recognize that this regime is not interested in change. It is a pariah solely concerned with its own survival, and will continue to do anything—even if that means taking down its own people—to keep it alive.
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