US Keeps Mum On High-level Israeli Delegation Visit Over Iran

Amnesty International and UNICEF issued statements on Thursday to condemn the attacks, which many have described as intentionally ignored by the regime. 

Schoolgirls have been “at the forefront of protests and many bravely defied discriminatory compulsory veiling laws,” Amnesty said, noting that such attacks raise concerns of increasing gender-based violence against women and girls for standing up for their rights. 

On Friday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, joined foreign leaders in condemning the attacks. She said, "Girls must be able to go to school without fear... This is nothing less than their human right. All cases must be fully investigated."

White House national security spokesman John Kirby expressed deep concerns about the poisonings as the world demands answers as to who the culprits are and what the agent being used is.

At least 58 schools in one-third of the country’s provinces have been attacked by unidentified gases since November 30 when the first case of poisoning among schoolgirls was reported in the religious city of Qom. Around 1,000 students have become ill with the mysteriously dispersed, unidentified fumes so far.

The country's interior minister, Ahmad Vahidi, an ex-IRGC top officer wanted by Interpol for his part in the bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in 1994, has been tasked with leading the investigation, though has so far denied fowl play.

A teachers’ union in Iran and some other activists have urged people to stage a protest on Tuesday to condemn school gas attacks, demanding an explanation from the Supreme Leader.

The exchange rate of the dollar touched over 600,000 rials earlier on Sunday but the Iranian currency began to rise to close at about 540,000 against the dollar on Thursday, which is the last weekday in Iran. 

Despite the rebound, the rial is still down 100 percent compared to six months ago.

Iranian media is replete with different scenarios for the rebound, but the most plausible explanation still seems to have been the injection of a large amount of foreign currency into the market by the Central Bank of Iran. 

Another reason mentioned in Tehran media is a bit far-fetched guesswork that the country's foreign minister's trip to Geneva during the week and the possibility of resuming negotiations to revive the 2015 nuclear deal injected some optimist into the market.

In an article earlier in the week, Jomhouri-e Eslami newspaper argued that fluctuations in the market are out of the hands of the government as the country’s economy is tied to the fate of Iran’s nuclear deal and its relations with the other countries. The paper and other media outlets speculated that foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian’s trip to attend a United Nations human rights meeting might also re-open the door to nuclear talks resulting in the lifting of US sanctions.

The paper described the extreme rise and fall of the dollar in only a few days as a lesson for the authorities, highlighting that the country can survive the current critical period through reviving the JCPOA and declaration of neutrality in the Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as a practical approach to a balanced policy in international relations.

Reports about the imminent visit by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi to Iran for high-level meetings, purportedly slated for Friday, was another reason mentioned by the country’s media. The visit comes amid discussions with Tehran on the origin of uranium particles enriched to up to 83.7% purity, very close to weapons grade, at its Fordow enrichment plant. 

Remarks by CIA Director William Burns about Islamic Republic not pursuing an atomic bomb was also mentioned as being behind the halt in the devaluation of the rial. "We don't believe that the Supreme Leader in Iran has yet made a decision to resume the weaponization program that we judge that they suspended or stopped at the end of 2003," Burns said. 

While merchants told Iran International earlier in the week that trading in Tehran markets had largely come to a halt as the rial was near its all-time low, the local media confirmed reports that the Central Bank of Iran intervened in the currency market to stop the freefall of the rial. On Sunday, the bank injected $700 million in UAE dirhams and the rial began to rise from its all-time low of 600,000 against dollar.

The rial’s plunge to 575,000 Saturday, February 25, exacerbated chaos in several of Iran's major markets and brought many businesses to near standstill. The rial fell from 35,000 to more than 600,000 against the US dollar in exactly five years. This led to very high inflation, officially at more than 50 percent, which has impoverished tens of millions of Iranians. An Iranian economist says the role of US sanctions in causing economic chaos in Iran has been significant.

All in all, the Islamic Republic seems incapable of major changes in the market as it is strapped for cash with some reports saying the government does not allow ATM machines to give cash more than the current limit of 2,000,000 rials – about $4, which barely can buy a hamburger today in the capital.

In a letter sent to Radio Farda, the Persian Service of Radio Free Europe in Prague, Narges Mohammadi wrote: "In the past few months, detainees have been brought to the women's ward of Evin prison, and … subjected to sexual assault and physical torture. We have witnessed the traces left on their bodies.”

The civil activist, who has been in prison since 2016, also referred to the case of the elderly Baha'i poet and writer, Mahvash Shahriari, who has served 10 years in prison, and was recently arrested without any legal documents against her.

“She spent five months in solitary confinement [and] has suffered mental and physical torture,” emphasized Mohammadi.

She further expressed readiness "to testify in any place" as a "witness" regarding sexual assault and physical torture in prisons.

Amid the mass arrest of protesters within the past five months, numerous reports have been published regarding rape and assault on both men and women by regime officials in prisons, the first report published by CNN in November.

In response to the investigation, the foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, described the reports as "biased and false".

Britain said the vessel was detected travelling south from Iran at high speed during the hours of darkness by an unmanned US intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance plane in international waters, and was also tracked by a British helicopter.

When hailed by the Royal Navy, the vessel initially attempted to navigate to Iranian territorial waters but was stopped by a team of Royal Marines, who then boarded the small boat and recovered the suspicious packages, Britain's Ministry of Defense said.

"This seizure by HMS Lancaster and the permanent presence of the Royal Navy in the Gulf region supports our commitment to uphold international law and tackle activity that threatens peace and security around the world," British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in a statement.

Initial inspection suggested the packages included Iranian anti-tank guided missiles and medium-range ballistic missile components, Britain said, adding that it had informed the United Nations about the seizure.

It follows two previous Royal Navy seizures of Iranian weapons in the region early last year and several seizures by the US Navy or in joint operations since November.

UN experts have in the past made a determination that some weapons used by the Houthi forces in Yemen had Iranian origin.

Tehran has been supporting the Houthis at least for the past 8 years against Yemen's government and its backer Saudi Arabia.

With reporting by Reuters

On Wednesday, almost 30 schools around the country saw hundreds of schoolgirls become the latest victims of an unknown gas being used in schools apparently to suppress support for the revolution.

In a briefing on Wednesday, State Department Spokesman Ned Price said the reports on the poisonings are both “disturbing” and “concerning”.

Hundreds of schoolgirls - who have been at the forefront of anti-regime protests - have been hospitalized in various cities across the country since November 30 when the first case of a mysterious poisoning was reported in the religious city of Qom.

Price called on the Iranian authorities to thoroughly investigate the poisonings. “It is incumbent on Iranian authorities to respond … [and] put an end to these reported attacks … [and] to hold accountable those who may be perpetrating this,” added Price.

He added: “Women and girls everywhere have an innate right to an education, and education is a universal human right. It is a right that women and girls in Iran should have … It is essential to advancing women’s economic security and to realizing gender equality.”

Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, a man wanted by Interpol for the bombing of a Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires in 1994, said Wednesday that no chemical agent responsible for the poisonings has been found, and the culprits are yet to be apprehended.

He failed to address claims on social media that women dressed in strange attire had been seen walking into school campuses, suggesting a clear campaign to target the schools coming from regime officials.