(Washington) The White House said Monday that the investigation of cases of poisoning in girls’ schools in Iran could fall under the mandate of the United Nations.
“If these poisonings are linked to participation in protests, then it falls squarely within the mandate of the independent UN Fact-Finding Mission,” established last November to investigate human rights abuses in Iran, said White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre.
“There must be a credible and independent investigation, those responsible will have to be held accountable”, she added during her daily press briefing, considering that these cases of intoxication were “inadmissible”.
The case of the poisoned schoolgirls has been causing a wave of emotion in the country for several days, where the authorities are under pressure to identify those responsible.
Several hundred cases of respiratory distress have been recorded since the beginning, in mid-December, of the series of poisonings by toxic gases in at least ten establishments. They would be the work of individuals wanting to close girls’ schools, according to a government official.
At this stage, no arrests have been announced as part of the investigation carried out by the authorities.