Students ‘poisoned’ the night before anti-regime protests; Report

On the eve of large-scale anti-regime demonstrations, over a thousand Iranian university students appear to have been poisoned. Students at the universities of Kharazmi and Ark were sick, including hallucinations, severe bodily pains, and vomiting. At least four additional colleges reported receiving similar disease reports. The students’ food poisoning was confirmed by the Iranian science ministry.

Iranian students have called for an intensified three-day period of national strikes and protests which is due to begin on Wednesday. The student union has also claimed the universities’ clinics have closed or suddenly run out of electrolytes which has made it harder to treat dehydration – a common symptom of food poisoning. It came as an Iranian state broadcaster denied reports that the regime had scrapped its morality police.

No official in Iran has confirmed the closure of the morality police, Al-Alam broadcaster claims. Earlier on Sunday, an Iranian public prosecutor said the unit had been ‘shut down’ and had ‘nothing to do with’ the country’s judiciary. If confirmed, the move would be a major concession to the protesters, who have clashed in their thousands with regime security forces.

Iran has sealed a jewellery shop and restaurant belonging to the famous footballer Ali Daei, after he backed protesters’ calls for strikes this week. He said he had been targeted by threats after backing the protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini. His shops were sealed following cooperation with anti-revolutionary groups in cyberspace to disrupt peace and business of the market, reports say.

Three-day nationwide strike
Iranian shops shut their doors in several cities on Monday, following calls for a three-day nationwide strike from protesters seeking the fall of clerical rulers. Videos shared by 1500tasvir, an activist group focused on the protests, show closed shops in commercial areas including Tehran’s Bazaar. Rights group Hengaw reported that 19 cities had joined the strike movement in western Iran, where most of the country’s Kurdish population live.