A growing chemical weapons threat from Iran is raising alarms in Israel and Washington, as new intelligence suggests Tehran is preparing ballistic missiles with unconventional warheads. The chemical threat, Israeli officials warn, must be neutralized in any future military strike on the regime.
Amir Avivi, a former brigadier general in the Israel Defense Forces, said there is mounting concern within Israel’s defense establishment. “There is a discussion in the Israeli defense establishment about the possibility of chemical and biological weapons,” Avivi said. “We know that they have capability to send a warhead that is chemical.”
Avivi added that Iran is “continuing preparations for war and the production of ballistic missiles, including chemical and biological ballistic missiles, which are very, very dangerous and need to be dealt with.” He stressed that any operation targeting Tehran’s military infrastructure must ensure “that all these capabilities are dealt with.”
For decades, U.S. officials have assessed that Iran has researched chemical agents, including anesthetics that incapacitate victims by targeting the central nervous system. Avivi warned such weapons could spark panic on a massive scale. “It’s the kind of weapon that can create mass hysteria,” he said, noting that standard bomb shelters offer limited protection against chemical exposure.
Meanwhile, Trump administration envoy Steve Witkoff underscored the urgency of the broader threat. “They’re probably a week away from having industrial-grade bomb-making material,” Witkoff said. “And that’s really dangerous. So they can’t have that.”
Iranian leaders have signaled defiance. President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran has “made all necessary preparations for any potential scenario.”
As negotiations loom, Israeli and U.S. officials appear aligned that confronting the chemical threat remains central to preventing a far more dangerous regional conflict.
