Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called a wave of illness that has hit hundreds of schoolgirls all across the country over the past four months "an unforgivable crime" and vowed that it should be "severely punished."
The unexplained illnesses have required the hospitalization of many young women and girls and ignited parents' and broader public anger over the failure of authorities to identify the cause amid underlying tension brought on by protests over women's rights and rule of law and a resulting crackdown.
"Authorities should seriously pursue the issue of students' poisoning," state media quoted Khamenei as saying on March 6 in his most-forceful public response so far to the situation, according to Reuters.
"This is an unforgivable crime...the perpetrators of this crime should be severely punished," Khamenei, who had previously not publicly used the word poisoning to describe what was happening, added.
As public anger persisted over the weekend, reports said authorities responded by inexplicably detaining a journalist who has actively covered the trend from one of its epicenters in the central city of Qom.
A fellow reporter said the Qom News website's Ali Purtabatabaei phoned a family member late on March 5 to say he'd been detained but the line was disconnected before he could provide details.
Sharq reporter Milad Alavi said Purtabatabaei "announced the news of his arrest by calling his sister at around 8 p.m."
Iranian authorities frequently arrest and hold citizens without immediately providing information to their families or acquaintances for days or even weeks.
Purtabatabaei's Twitter account went silent after the apparent detention.
Multiple local news agencies said it was unclear which institution seized Purtabatabaei, why they targeted him, or where he was taken.
Public frustrations have led to protests recently as the number of girls' schools affected by the mass illnesses grew and government critics questioned official actions.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Washington was calling for an independent investigation to determine if the poisonings were related to the protests.
"The possibility that girls in Iran are being possibly poisoned simply for trying to get an education is shameful, it's unacceptable," she told a news briefing.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi this month ordered an investigation amid allegations by some that the wave of illness, coupled with the government's lack of a response, was retaliation for students and women leading anti-government protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody for allegedly wearing a head scarf improperly.
The first report of suspected mass illness came in Qom in November, when 18 schoolgirls were taken to a hospital after complaining of symptoms that included nausea, headaches, coughing, breathing difficulties, heart palpitations, and numbness and pain in their hands or legs.
Female students reportedly fell ill in dozens of cities across at least 17 Iranian provinces this weekend, as speculation swirled over what some allege are months of noxious gas attacks that have coincided with a crackdown on unprecedented protests over the death while in police custody of a young woman in September for allegedly wearing a head scarf improperly.
Officials have been unable to pinpoint the cause of the reported illnesses.
The Qom Seminary Teachers and Researchers Association, which has ties to reformists, warned recently that the situation "will only add to society's accumulated dissatisfaction with the government" brought on by unemployment, government inefficiencies, and a "crisis of legitimacy of the system."
After the report of Purtabatabaei's detention, Iranian media activist Ehsan Bodaghi tweeted that "Finally, one person was arrested for poisoning the students..., one of the administrators of the Qomnews site, who has been the most-followed for news related to poisonings and the investigation of their causes in the last 3 months."
Abbas Abdi, an influential journalist and reformist, tweeted that "not only does [Purtabatabaei's detention] not help to clear up the ambiguity of rumors and news about the poisonings, but it also makes it worse."
Some parents have protested outside of schools where students have fallen sick, but Iran's chief justice, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, warned on March 6 that those who criticized the government faced "severe punishment" and that those who "spread lies, rumors, and incitement" should be summoned.
Iranian authorities have overseen a brutal crackdown on protesters over Amini's death, with thousands of people arrested and many claiming they were tortured while in custody. Rights groups say more than 500 people have died as a result of the crackdown.
Mohseni-Ejei, a former intelligence minister who is considered a hard-liner, said the judiciary would continue to punish women who violate the Islamic republic's strict dress code.