Iran has swept another wave of poisonings of girls of school age, writes Bloomberg. On Saturday, at least 300 schoolgirls from more than a dozen cities across Iran were hospitalized with various symptoms of unknown origin..

More than 120 girls have been treated in the western city of Hamedan and neighboring Kabudarakhang county for nausea, weakness and dizziness, the Iranian Student News Agency reported..

Suspicions of poisoning have also been reported in girls' schools in five cities near Tehran, including Eslamshahr, Shahriar and Robat Karim west of the capital..

In the holy city of Qom, where the Shia shrine is located and the first cases of poisoning were reported, 44 girls were taken to hospital. Officials also reported the poisoning of 30 students from a girls' high school in the northwestern Iranian city of Urmia, as well as three employees of the institution..

According to unconfirmed videos posted on social networks, in Tehran and other cities, the parents of the girls took to the protests..

Authorities launched an investigation earlier this week - three months after the first cases of poisoning appeared.. Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said he has not received any reports of any toxic substances in schools so far.. He accused Iran's "

He also claimed that " Vahidi is a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the most powerful wing of the Iranian army..

The Minister said that "

Iranian officials believe the girls may have been poisoned and have blamed Tehran's enemies, with some politicians suggesting the girls may have been targeted by hardline Islamist groups opposed to girls' education..

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Schoolgirls actively participated in anti-government protests that began in September. They took off mandatory headscarves in classrooms, tore up photographs of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and called for his death..