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Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is developing biological and chemical warheads for the country's long-range ballistic missiles, informed military sources told Iran International on Sunday.
The IRGC Aerospace Force is working on the unconventional warheads for ballistic missiles as it transfers missile launchers to eastern regions of Iran, the sources said.
The sources, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said these activities have accelerated in recent months and are being pursued amid rising regional tensions and Tehran’s concerns about the possibility of another direct confrontation with Israel and the United States.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Florida to meet the US president on Monday, when he plans to brief Donald Trump on options for potential future strikes against Iran, amid concerns that Tehran is rebuilding ballistic missile production facilities and repairing air defenses damaged during a brief war in June.
Iran International’s sources say these programs are largely carried out under the supervision of the IRGC Aerospace Force and include optimizing ballistic missiles to carry chemical and biological agents, as well as upgrading the associated command-and-control systems.
The Revolutionary Guard, anticipating scenarios of large-scale conflict, is building capabilities that, in the view of the Islamic Republic’s decision-makers, would serve as a “complementary deterrent factor” alongside Iran’s conventional missile program, one source said.
The pursuit of chemical and biological warheads comes six months after Iran’s foreign minister described his country as “the largest victim of chemical weapons in modern history,” citing Saddam Hussein’s chemical attack on Sardasht in western Iran, which, according to OPCW documentation, killed more than 100 people in a large-scale mustard gas assault.
Asked about the contradiction, one source told Iran International, “The Iranian leadership views potential Israeli and American attacks as a threat to its very existence and intends, in the event of a conflict, to significantly raise the cost for the opposing side.”
There is a perception at the highest decision-making levels of the Islamic Republic that “the use of unconventional weapons can be justified in situations of existential threat," the source added.
Last week, Iran International reported that Western intelligence agencies had identified “unusual” activities by the IRGC Aerospace Force and had increased monitoring and surveillance of these movements.
Sources said intelligence services were tracking command-and-control signals as well as deployments and logistical movements linked to the force.
'Drastic change in Mideast deterrence balance'
Military analysts told Iran International that if these reports are confirmed, the development of chemical and biological warheads could drastically alter the region’s deterrence balance and trigger broad international reactions.
The deployment of such weapons would face widespread global condemnation and could pave the way for additional sanctions and intensified pressure on Tehran.
Tehran has consistently denied any effort to acquire unconventional weapons and has declared itself committed to its international obligations.
Over recent years, Iran has steadily increased the range, accuracy, and variety of its ballistic missiles, a program that has been one of the main sources of concern for Western countries and regional states.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has instructed domestic media outlets to refrain from publishing what it described as biased or false reports about Venezuela, according to a directive reviewed by Iran International.
The directive, circulated to editors and media managers, warned that Western media coverage of Venezuela in recent weeks and months formed part of what it called a US-led campaign of economic and psychological pressure against the government of President Nicolas Maduro.
Without citing specific examples, the council said such reporting aimed to wage “psychological warfare” and urged Iranian media to verify information before publication and avoid highlighting narratives that could, in its words, reinforce US pressure on the Venezuelan state and population.
The Supreme National Security Council, chaired by President Masoud Pezeshkian, did not specify which reports it considered misleading or inaccurate.
Iranian authorities have repeatedly issued editorial guidance to domestic media over coverage of foreign policy issues, national security matters and relations with the United States and its allies.
Several such directives, including earlier instructions on how to report remarks by US President Donald Trump in Israel’s Knesset, have previously been obtained by Iran International.
Iran and Venezuela have maintained close political, economic and security ties for years, dating back to the presidency of Hugo Chavez. The relationship has deepened as both countries face US sanctions and diplomatic isolation.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently criticized US pressure on Venezuela and condemned the seizure of a Venezuelan-linked oil tanker in the Caribbean.
President Pezeshkian also reaffirmed Tehran’s support for Caracas in a recent phone call with Maduro, describing Venezuela as a “friend and ally.”
Tehran and Caracas signed a 20-year cooperation agreement in 2022 covering sectors including energy, trade and industry. Both governments have also acknowledged cooperation in defense-related fields, though details remain limited.
Western governments and research institutions have reported that Iran has assisted Venezuela with drone technology and energy infrastructure, allegations that both countries have either denied or declined to comment on.
The United States has closely monitored Iran-Venezuela ties. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in recent comments that Venezuela served as a platform for Iranian influence in Latin America, remarks rejected by both Tehran and Caracas.
Iran’s foreign ministry has said it supports the Venezuelan government, which faces ongoing international disputes over electoral legitimacy. The United States, the European Union and several Latin American countries do not recognize Maduro’s current administration.
Western intelligence agencies have detected unusual activity involving Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force, prompting heightened monitoring, sources familiar with the assessments told Iran International.
The activity involves movements and coordination beyond normal patterns, including Iranian drone, missile and air-defence units, the sources said.
The developments could be linked to military exercises, Western officials with knowledge of the matter told Iran International but added that the scale and synchronization had drawn closer scrutiny.
Intelligence services are tracking command-and-control signals, deployments and logistical movements associated with the IRGC Air Force, the sources said.
The assessments come amid continued tensions between Iran and Western countries over Tehran’s nuclear and missile programs, and speculation about the possibility of renewed Israeli or even US attacks on Iran.
NBC News reported earlier today that Israeli officials are preparing to brief US President Donald Trump on options for possible new military strikes on Iran, citing concerns that Tehran is expanding its ballistic missile program.
Israeli officials believe Iran is rebuilding facilities linked to ballistic missile production and repairing air defenses damaged in a 12-day war in June, which they view as more urgent concerns than nuclear enrichment and fears of Tehran acquiring a nuclear weapon, NBC reported.
Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon but the United States and Western countries want Iran to end uranium enrichment, curb its missile power and rein its aid for armed groups in the region like Hamas and Hezbollah. Tehran has rejected the conditions.
Earlier this month, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei dismissed speculations about a possible fresh round of war on Iran, calling it part of “enemy propaganda”.
“Today, beyond these military confrontations — which have existed, as you have seen, and whose likelihood is constantly being talked up, with some even deliberately fanning the flames to create anxiety, though they will not succeed, God willing — we are facing a propaganda and media confrontation,” Khamenei said.
A chronic shortage of nurses and auxiliary staff in Iran’s hospitals has quietly given rise to a new and largely unregulated job: the “patient companion.”
Across Tehran and other major cities, advertising websites, job boards and even the walls outside hospitals are plastered with notices offering such services.
The role is not filled by relatives. Instead, patient companions are hired—often informally—to care for hospitalized patients, helping with eating, hygiene and mobility.
According to the head of Iran’s Nursing Organization, the country faces a shortfall of at least 100,000 nurses. The deficit appears to have created a parallel, low-wage labor market with little oversight and frequent abuse.
A nurse working at a hospital in Tehran told Iran International that the tasks assigned to patient companions often go far beyond what their wages suggest.
“They do work that no one would normally accept for this pay,” she said, requesting anonymity. “They care for patients who cannot go to the toilet or bathe on their own.”
Exploited
A search for “patient companion” (hamrah-e bimār) on Iran’s largest classifieds website, Divar, produces dozens of listings from across the country. The companies share a familiar pitch: assurances of experience, professionalism and official registration.
One company advertises an eight-hour shift for a mobile patient who does not require personal hygiene care at 800,000 tomans (about $6 at December 16 exchange rates). Many others list prices as “negotiable.”
Alongside these firms, individuals also advertise their services directly. Many claim to have first-aid training or nursing experience and say they are willing to travel nationwide.
Yet trust remains a major barrier.
“People don’t feel comfortable hiring individuals directly,” said another nurse in Tehran, who also asked not to be named. “So they turn to companies, even though the companies take most of the money.”
According to this nurse, nursing service firms often keep close to two-thirds of what families pay, leaving companions with little compensation despite the physical and emotional demands of the work.
No better option
To avoid company fees, some companions eventually try to secure work through hospital staff. After being introduced repeatedly by agencies, they ask nurses or aides to connect them directly with families in need.
The practice is most common in public hospitals, where staff shortages are most acute.
A doctor at a Tehran hospital told Iran International that families struggling to pay medical bills sometimes plead with doctors or nurses to help a relative find work as a patient companion. “It becomes a way to cover treatment costs,” he said.
A male nurse in Tehran described hiring a companion through an agency several years ago to care for his grandmother, who had cancer.
“She was a nursing student, working to support herself while studying,” he said. “She told us the companies demand large promissory notes from workers and then take two-thirds of the family’s payment.”
For many companions, the job is a temporary lifeline rather than a chosen profession.
Home-care assignments can carry additional risks, especially for women. Reports of assault or sexual harassment are not rare, the nurse added, but few are willing to come forward, fearing that agencies may move to cash promissory notes at the first sign of dispute—effectively blacklisting workers from future employment.
That lack of regulation cuts both ways. Families often prefer companies, believing them to be safer. But, as nurses acknowledge, the skills of agency-provided companions are far from guaranteed.
“Most companions are women, many of them heads of household,” one nurse in Tehran said. “Few have formal training. Most learn on the job from hospital staff. They do this because they have no other option.”
A relative of Rouzbeh Vadi said the Iranian nuclear scientist executed in August confessed only after severe torture and threats against his mother, describing a prosecution built on a single coerced statement.
Vahid Razavi, a member of Vadi’s family, told Iran International that the researcher was detained about 18 months ago following a dispute at work and was later accused of spying for Israel.
“Rouzbeh was tortured intensely, to the point that bones in his leg and two ribs were broken, and then his mother was arrested and jailed,” Razavi said. Interrogators, he added, photographed her in custody and showed the images to Vadi “to extract a forced confession.”
“They had told Rouzbeh that if he did not confess to espionage and agree to appear in a televised interview, they would torture his mother.”
Vadi, who held a doctorate in reactor engineering, had co‑authored a 2011 research paper with senior Iranian nuclear experts later killed during the June conflict with Israel, according to his Google Scholar profile.
The judiciary said he was convicted of transferring classified information about one of the scientists killed in those attacks to Mossad.
According to Razavi, interrogators warned Vadi that unless he admitted to espionage and appeared in a televised confession, “they would torture his mother.” He said Vadi accepted what he called a fabricated charge under those conditions.
Televised confession questioned
Vadi, a member of the Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute affiliated with the Atomic Energy Organization, was executed on August 6. The judiciary said at the time he had been “recruited via cyberspace by Mossad.”
The confession, Razavi said, broadcast on state television was the sole basis for the conviction. He said authorities “moved quickly” after the 12-day conflict in June and carried out the execution without notifying the family.
Razavi also questioned state media remarks that Vadi received a black bag stuffed with cash. “In an era of digital transactions, why would a highly educated scientist accept cash in a bag?” he said.
Vadi, Razavi said, was portrayed as having copied sensitive files onto a hard drive and handed them over in a public park restroom. Such accounts, he argued, were “nonsensical” given the availability of secure digital platforms such as Signal or Telegram.
Rights organizations have long raised concerns about forced confessions obtained under torture in Iran’s judicial system.
Razavi described Vadi as intelligent, devoted to his family and focused on work, noting that he lived with his mother and had modest means. He said Vadi had no political involvement and was committed to supporting peaceful nuclear research.
Following the June war, Iranian courts have arrested, tried and executed several people on espionage charges involving Israel. In one recent case, political prisoner Javad Naeimi was executed on October 18 in Qom. These executions have drawn criticism from international human rights groups and UN rapporteurs.
