Iran has reportedly developed chemical weapons utilizing synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, according to Matthew Levitt, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute. Levitt warns that these weapons could incapacitate soldiers or civilians when added to grenades or artillery.
“Once inhaled, these agents cause victims to lose full consciousness and enable the forces deploying them to advance quickly and quietly and/or take captive the unconscious victims,” Levitt wrote in an article for the Combatting Terrorism Center at West Point. “Moreover, deploying weapons produced with dual-use items, and then providing said weapons to proxies, provides Iran with multiple layers of cover and reasonable deniability for having done so at all.”
Levitt referenced a 2002 incident in which Russian forces used a pharmaceutical-based gas, likely fentanyl-based, to end a hostage standoff with Chechen terrorists in a Moscow theater. While the gas enabled Russian forces to subdue the attackers, it also led to the deaths of around 120 hostages.
According to Levitt, this event spurred Iran’s interest in pursuing similar capabilities.
“At a time of growing regional instability in the Middle East, largely the result of the militancy of Iranian proxies, the threats posed by Iran’s weaponized PBA program can no longer be overlooked,” wrote Levitt.