There have been reports suggesting that Iran is developing its chemical weapons, despite having declared the elimination of its chemical weapons in the past. This has come to light amid allegations of Tehran assisting Damascus in building and developing Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal.
Nicole Champagne, the U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague, stated to Tortoise News that Iran maintains a chemical weapons program, including agents intended for offensive purposes, which she considers a significant concern for the United States.
In 1997, Iran declared it had disposed of its chemical weapons stockpile and became a member of the OPCW after ratifying the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Iran’s Chemical Relationship with Syria
In a report published in August 2023 by two Israeli researchers from the Alma Research Center, titled “The Risk of Advanced or Chemical Weapons Reaching the Hands of Iranian Axis Proxies,” it was claimed that Iran is assisting Syria in building its arsenal of advanced and chemical weapons.
The report from the Alma Center, which focuses on threats to northern Israel, stated that Iran’s main focus is on developing and manufacturing precision-guided missiles, cruise missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles on Syrian soil, using the facilities of the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC).
The report claims that by operating in Syria, Iran can shorten the logistical routes needed to transport weapons to Syria and Lebanon through a long distance, via Iraq to Al-Bukamal on the Syrian-Iraqi border.
Iran’s presence in Syria, or through its proxies in Lebanon, poses a threat to Israel’s “security,” as Israel has not signed the Chemical Weapons Convention.
The United States has imposed sanctions on hundreds of individuals associated with the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC). U.S. airstrikes have targeted the research center multiple times, with the U.S. affirming that these strikes have disrupted Syria’s chemical weapons program for several years.
Iran’s Development of PBA Weapons
On April 4, 2024, the U.S. Department of State issued a report assessing the non-compliance of four states (Russia, Syria, Iran, and Burma) with the Chemical Weapons Convention.
The report cited classified documents published by Iranian opposition on X (formerly Twitter), alleging that an Iranian military university is developing hand grenades intended to disseminate Medetomidine, a chemical sedative that affects the central nervous system.
The report confirmed that some facilities under the control of the Iranian military, such as Imam Hossein University (IHU) and Malek Ashtar University of Technology (MUT), have since 2005 been conducting research on chemicals with wide-ranging anesthetic, dissociative, and amnesic effects.
Fentanyl Chemical and Riot Control
The U.S. expressed concerns in its report about the development by some countries (signatories to the Chemical Weapons Convention) of airborne fentanyl, which affects the central nervous system.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that causes unconsciousness upon exposure and directly affects the nervous system. It is being developed as an airborne substance for use against civilians in riot control situations.
In 2021, Iran, China, Russia, and Syria opposed U.S. concerns, arguing that Article II of the Chemical Weapons Convention allows the use of toxic chemicals “for law enforcement purposes,” including domestic riot control, “provided the types and quantities are consistent with such purposes”.
Obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention
According to paragraph 1 of Article I of the Chemical Weapons Convention, each State Party undertakes never under any circumstances “to develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, or retain chemical weapons, or transfer, directly or indirectly, chemical weapons to anyone,” or “to assist, encourage, or induce, in any way, anyone to engage in any activity prohibited to a State Party under this Convention”.
Iran retains a chemical weapons program that includes the pursuit of certain pharmaceutical-based agents (PBAs) as part of a broader category of “incapacitating agents” for offensive purposes. Therefore, the development and proliferation of such agents constitute a violation of Iran’s obligations under Article I.
Monitoring by the OPCW
Iran imports chemicals claiming they are for “non-hostile” purposes and for legitimate civilian applications, which may not conclusively prove that Iran is developing or maintaining a chemical weapons program.
Under the Convention, the OPCW is tasked with preventing the use or development of chemical weapons and ensuring the disposal of stockpiles through official, unannounced inspections.
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