Iran’s shadowy chemical weapons program draws scrutiny as reports allege use against protesters

A caller study from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD) raises concerns astir Iran's opaque chemic weapons program, which argues policymakers person paid small attraction to compared to Iran's much scrutinized atomic weapons program. 

The FDD study outlines however the Iranian authorities whitethorn person resorted to the unconventional usage of chemic weapons portion it faced an unprecedented uprising opening successful Dec. 2025, a question of unrest Tehran has not seen since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Any usage of chemic weapons by Iran would beryllium successful defiance of their obligations nether the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention.

"The United States, its allies and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) should analyse credible claims that Iran’s authorities utilized chemic weapons against its ain people," Andrea Stricker, lawman manager of FDD's Nonproliferation Program and writer of the report, told Fox News Digital.

An Iranian subject motortruck carries surface-to-air missiles past a representation of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a parade connected the juncture of the country's yearly service time connected April 18, 2018, successful Tehran. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran’s illicit chemic weapons programme is nether renewed scrutiny arsenic the Trump medication appears person to taking subject enactment against Iran and its atomic weapons program.

While the U.S. has been engaged successful indirect talks with Iranian officials mediated by Oman successful Geneva, the U.S. has accrued its subject beingness successful the Persian Gulf, sending the USS Gerald R. Ford to articulation dozens of different warships to the region.

On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi posted connected X that "Iran volition resume talks with the U.S. successful Geneva with a determination to execute a just and equitable deal—in the shortest imaginable time."

The overseas curate claimed that Iran volition not prosecute atomic weapons nether immoderate circumstances but emphasized that Iran volition not forgo its close to harness peaceful atomic technology.

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Exterior presumption of the office of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, OPCW, successful The Hague, Netherlands, Friday, May 5, 2017.  (Peter Dejong/The Associated Press)

"A woody is wrong reach, but lone if diplomacy is fixed priority," helium added.

Despite the optimism and propulsion for continued talks, determination stay fears that Iran volition not marque immoderate meaningful concessions connected their atomic program, that could pb to U.S. subject strikes connected the nation.

A broader authorities alteration run to topple the Islamic Republic’s authorities led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is besides not disconnected the table, according to immoderate reports.

"If Washington launches strikes against Iran, it should springiness superior information to targeting the regime’s chemic weapons probe and accumulation facilities. Such enactment would assistance halt further improvement and imaginable usage of these weapons portion sending a wide connection that the authorities cannot perpetrate atrocities with impunity," Stricker said.

The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which Iran is enactment to, upholds the norms against state-held chemic weapons, specifically, banning states’ development, stockpiling, production, and usage of chemic weapons, adjacent for retaliatory reasons, arsenic good arsenic their receipt from oregon transportation to anyone.

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Israel’s lawman ambassador to the Netherlands, Yaron Wax, said successful July 2025 earlier a peculiar gathering of the OPCW that "over the past 2 decades Iran has been processing a chemic weapons programme based connected weaponized pharmaceutical agents."

These agents, Wax said, interaction the cardinal tense strategy and tin beryllium fatal adjacent successful tiny doses. 

The ambassador said astatine the Shahid Meisami Research Complex, destroyed by Israel successful June 2025, Iran’s Shahid Meisami Group (SMG) was moving connected fentanyl opioid-derived tactical munitions for subject use. Israel believes the pharmaceutical-based agents were transferred to Syria’s longtime and present deposed dictator, Bashar al-Assad and Iraqi Shia militias arsenic well.

Iran began processing its chemic weapons programme successful 1983 during its warfare with Iraq successful effect to chemic attacks from the authorities of Saddam Hussein, according to the U.S. Intelligence Community.

As precocious arsenic 2024, the U.S. has repeatedly recovered Iran successful noncompliance with its obligations nether the CWC.

In a station connected X successful Nov. 2024, the Iranian ngo to the United Nations pushed backmost connected the charges against it." "A unfortunate of Western-donated chemic weapons employed by the Saddam regime, Iran stands arsenic a liable subordinate of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Over the past respective decades, not a azygous lawsuit of Iranian usurpation has been recorded. The existent unfounded reports are simply an outgrowth of intelligence warfare propagated by the Zionist authorities successful the aftermath of its caller decision connected the Lebanese front."

Cars pain successful a thoroughfare during a protestation implicit the illness of the currency’s worth successful Tehran, Iran, Jan. 8, 2026. (Stringer/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters.)

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Stricker says the U.S. and planetary assemblage person failed to clasp Iran accountable for its amerciable chemic weapons program, and meaningful enactment indispensable beryllium taken to forestall Iran from transporting banned substances to Iran’s nefarious proxy actors successful the Middle East.

The study notes that the U.S. and OPCW should motorboat a unit run against Iran, calling retired the authorities and publicizing immoderate violations. The Trump administration, the study recommends, should request a ceremonial ultimatum to show compliance with the normal and judge monitoring and verification mechanisms.

FDD besides suggests Israel should ratify the CWC and enactment wrong the OPCW, which would springiness Israel much credibility successful combating Iranian violations.

Smoke rises aft an detonation successful Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 13, 2025. Israel attacked Iran's superior aboriginal Friday, with explosions booming crossed Tehran. (Getty Images)

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The study says arsenic a past resort, the U.S. should see launching strikes targeting authorities chemic weapons facilities, oregon enactment Israeli efforts, if actionable quality indicates question connected Iran’s chemic weapons efforts oregon a renewed propulsion by the authorities to usage specified amerciable weapons to ace down connected anti-government protests.

"The lone solution to Iran’s persistent WMD menace is for the United States and Israel to undermine the regime’s grip connected power. Until then, the 2 nations volition periodically beryllium forced to play whack-a-mole with Tehran’s capabilities whenever they endanger determination peace," Stricker said.

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