Mass poisoning on presidential election day hidden by Iranian authorities

At least 400 people in Iran's Gilan province were poisoned on June 28, the first round of the presidential elections in Iran, with allegations the news was censored by the government.

Etemad Daily reported Monday that the mixing of sewage water with drinking water caused the poisoning, but officials are trying to hide it.

On June 28, residents of Rezvanshahr visited hospitals and medical centers with symptoms such as nausea, headaches, and stomach pain. The number of hospital visitors was initially 130, but it reached 400 two days later.

The president of Gilan Medical University attributed the cause of the poisonings to water contamination. However, the Gilan Water and Wastewater Department rejected this, emphasizing that "there was no connection between the poisoning ... and the consumption of water from the distribution network."

One resident told Etemad, "My family and I visited the hospital twice with symptoms of stomach pain, diarrhoea, weakness, and loss of appetite. The cause of the poisoning is drinking water, but we don't know why the main cause is not being announced."

In May last year, 333 people were poisoned in Badreh city due to drinking tap water while in September 2021, sewage entering the drinking water tank in the village of Desheh in Kurdish Paveh County poisoned most residents.

The water shortage crisis in Iran has become a major challenge for citizens, affecting multiple province.