Iran Developed Fentanyl-Based Chemical Weapons, Experts Warn

Last Updated:November 26, 2024, 21:45 IST

The Institute for Science and Security and a Washington Institute senior fellow warned that Iran has made weapons out of fentanyl.

Iran’s possible plan to use pharmaceutical-based chemical agents like fentanyl raises concerns about non-compliance with chemical weapon regulations and international safety. (IMAGE: REUTERS/REPRESENTATIVE)

Iran has developed chemical weapons based on synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, warns a US expert and the Institute for Science and Security (ISIS), powerful agents that could incapacitate soldiers or civilians when added to grenades or artillery.

Earlier this month, Matthew Levitt, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute think tank, had warned that Iran has developed pharmaceutical-based agents, or PBAs.

The ISIS in its paper titled The Islamic Republic’s Work on Pharmaceutical Based Agents, authored by Mohammadreza Giveh and the Good ISIS Team, also confirmed that multiple Iranian security complexes that have been preparing production of fentanyl and medetomidine based incapacitating and lethal agents.

It said that Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) affiliated individuals have been working on PBAs for several decades and that the report focuses on the period between 2005 and 2023.

“These complexes have been working on pillars of producing those weapons: large-scale cost-efficient synthesis of the compounds with maximum potency, evaluating a stable chemical mixture based on those agents that can be aerosolized using a propellant, and developing the delivery of the agents through grenades, bullets, or drones," the report said.

“The rise of the widespread use of easy-to-operate drones has increased the risk of lethal and incapacitating pharmaceutical-based chemical weapons being dispersed in this new manner. The most immediate concern in the Middle East is that the Islamic Republic or its proxies would use such weapons," it further added.

The paper warned that the issue of chemical agents made from pharmaceuticals is not new but their potential use in wars and the ease of delivering them over short or long distances using drones make it urgent.

It said that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) should focus on the concern that Iran may be weaponizing these agents and not following the Chemical Weapons Convention.

It should also consider what actions to take if there is non-compliance. Raising awareness is important to stop the further development and use of such agents, the ISIS researchers said.

Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

News world Iran Developed Fentanyl-Based Chemical Weapons Deployable Via Drones, US Experts Warn