A group of 1,200 university students in Iran were struck down by food poisoning the night before a wave of anti-regime protests were set to be held throughout the country.
Students at Kharazmi and Ark universities experienced vomiting, severe body aches and hallucinations, the national student union claimed Thursday.
At least four other universities reported similar outbreaks. Uninfected students are reportedly boycotting the cafeterias in response.
While officials are citing water-borne bacteria as the cause of the troubling symptoms, the student union posted that the population was intentionally poisoned.
“Our past experiences of similar incidents at the Isfahan university negates the authorities’ reason for this mass food poisoning,” the group wrote on Telegram.
