The Islamic Republic of Iran now employs weaponized pharmaceutical-based agents, specifically medetomidine, to achieve total physical incapacitation of domestic protesters during nationwide unrest. Deployment of these substances signifies a malicious shift from conventional riot control to clandestine chemical warfare, violating the Chemical Weapons Convention.
The Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), acting through the Shahid Meisami Group and the Hakiman Shargh Research Company, manages the research and manufacturing of these agents. Key personnel include project leader Hossein Fakhrayan and directors Ali Pourasad, Mehran Babari, and Reza Bazshooshtari. Seyed Ali Alavi manages the Hakiman Shargh Research Company, which facilitates the production of these munitions under the direct guidance of the Ministry of Defense.
Project Bazdarandeh and the Fadak 110 initiative focus on the pyrotechnic aerosolization of medetomidine, a potent veterinary sedative, into 38mm and 40mm grenade platforms such as the Type 73. The regime masks these operations behind civilian agricultural research facilities in the Mahdasht region near Karaj, purportedly producing pesticides and fertilizers under the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad. These grenades utilize an M6-40% formulation to ensure a stable, respirable smoke that penetrates the lower respiratory tract.
These pharmaceutical agents provide the regime with a “tactical knockout” capability that renders victims passive for mass arrest or kinetic execution. Use of medetomidine offers plausible deniability because its toxicological profile often mimics natural cardiac failure or respiratory arrest, allowing the state to attribute deaths to non-military causes. The lack of a human-approved reversal agent like naloxone for medetomidine ensures that medical responders remain unable to treat victims effectively in the field.
The January 2026 nationwide protests triggered the full-scale operational deployment of these munitions, which internal documents from the Tapandegan Movement recently exposed. Increased visibility of hazmat-equipped security units in cities like Sabzevar, documented in video evidence, has forced the regime into a defensive diplomatic posture. Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi utilized the 30th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention to perform preplanned misdirection, shifting focus to historical victimhood while concealing ongoing violations.
Violent crackdowns utilizing these agents contributed to an estimated death toll of up to 12,000 protesters. Victims suffer from delayed lethality, acute respiratory distress, muscular paralysis, and long-term internal organ damage. Proliferation of weaponized pharmaceutical agents to regional proxies like Hezbollah further destabilizes the Middle East by providing tools for “silent” incapacitation during kidnapping operations and cross-border raids.
Strategic foresight analysis suggests that the regime will continue to optimize these agents using artificial intelligence for targeted delivery and nanoporous silica for persistent environmental release. Authoritarian states worldwide may adopt this template for pharmaceutical repression if the international community fails to enforce compliance or remove Iran from the OPCW Executive Council. Credibility of this assessment remains high due to the convergence of leaked technical schematics, eyewitness testimonies from Sabzevar and Tehran, and international sanctions against the involved entities. The regime’s reliance on agricultural fronts and diplomatic theater indicates a long-term commitment to maintaining a ghost chemical program that evades traditional verification mandates.
Read More “Toxicological Analysis of Iranian Pharmaceutical-Based Chemical Programs (2025-26)” »
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