Other Names: Esfahan
Address: Names of all suspected weapons facilities are unknown.
However, the following addresses correspond to chemical laboratories in Isfahan:

Poly-Acryl Iran Corporation (PIC)
Abshar Crossroads
P.O. Box 4415
Isfahan, Isfahan, Islamic Republic of Iran
(Another source lists a different street address in EIfahan: 45 Km. Mobrake Rd.)

Linear Alkyl Benzene Complex (LAB):
Isfahan-Tehran Rd., km.15
West of Shahid Mohammad Montazeri Power Plant
Isfahan, Iran

Chemical Industries Group (CIG) (Central Office):
P.O. Box 16765-358 
2nd floor, Sanam Bldg.
Nobonyad Square
Tehran, Iran

Location: n/a
Website: LAB Complex, Poly-acryl Iran Corporation, and Chemical Industries Group websites are unknown.
Phone: Poly-Acryl Iran Corporation: +98 (31) 310051, 276400
Chemical Industries Group (office): +98 21 2546602
Phone number of LAB Complex unknown.
Subordinate to: Unknown
Size: Presently, PIC plants comprise five production units with an aggregate annual capacity of 95,000 metric tons. CIG's Bofors plant operates with a staff of 300 people. The size of the LAB Complex is unknown.
Primary Function: Chemical production

History:

Polyacryl Iran Corporation was founded in August 1974. The first Linear Alkyl Benzyne Complex was officially founded by President Rafsanjani in June 1994. Within the Chemical Industries Group (CIG), a state-of-the art chemical plant was built by the Swedish group Bofors in Isfahan starting in the late 1970s; however, the plant did not open until 1987 due to Iraqi artillery and missile barrages.

Activities:

Several sources report that the Iranian government maintains chemical weapon production facilities in the city of Isfahan. Unconfirmed reports from the National Council of Resistance of Iran claim that nerve gas produced in a facility near Semnan was transported to a missile plant in Isfahan for weaponization on ballistic missiles, including the Scud-B.

Although the exact location of the suspected facilities are unknown, Isfahan is home to several chemical companies with production capabilities: Poly-Acryl Corporation, Linear Alkyl Benzene Complex, and the Chemical Industries Group.

PIC ranks as the largest and most technologically advanced man-made fiber manufacturer in Iran. Presently, PIC plants comprise five production units with an aggregate annual capacity of 95,000 metric tons, including 33000 tons polyester staple, 22500 tons polyester yarn, 2000 tons polyester tops, 22500 tons acrylic staple and 15000 tons acrylic tops.

The commercial plant of the Poly-Acryl Corporation, a privately owned, independent commercial enterprise about 45km from the city of Isfahan, reportedly "developed into a major chemical weapons production facility." Steinberg notes sources that reported on "Chinese assistance, in terms of both infrastructure for building chemical plants and some of the necessary precursors for...the production of Poly-acryl corp for chemical weapons near Ishfahan."

The first Linear Alkyl Benzyne (LAB) Complex was officially founded by President Rafsanjani in June 1994. The LAB complex in Isfahan produces linear alkyl benzene, the raw material for the production of synthetic household detergents. The raw materials used, kerosene and benzene, are supplied from Isfahan Refinery and Isfahan Petrochemical Complex respectively. All management activities, coordination, planning/scheduling, project control, and procurement activities for the construction of the LAB complex have been performed by Iran Chemical Industries Investment Company (ICIIC) management team. A portion of engineering and supervision activities have been performed by Iranian consulting engineers, and all construction and erection activities have been performed by Iranian contractors. All activities related to precommissioning, commissioning, and start-up of the LAB complex have been performed by ICIIC personnel. Links to CW production are unclear.

Located in Isfahan, the Chemical Industries Group is the backbone of the Iranian weapons industry. According to US intelligence sources, CIG is making solid-fuel propellant powders for Iran's ballistic missile and artillery rocket programs. Within the CIG, a state-of-the art chemical plant was built by the Swedish group Bofors in Isfahan starting in the late 1970s as a dual-use fertilizer and explosives factory; however, the plant did not open until 1987 due to Iraqi artillery and missile barrages. The Bofors chemical plant in Isfahan produces TNT, RDX, Hexotol B, Hexotol B4, plastic explosives (C4), and nitrocellulose. Despite very large batch runs of TNT, Hexatol, and Hexogen, the plant operates with a staff of only 300 people since all primary filling lines are fully automated. Today, the plant is fully staffed by Iranians.

It is interesting to note that Bofors was involved in an illegal arms trade scandal in 1987, when it was discovered the company had been illegally selling weapons to Iran, Bahrein, Dubai, Libya, and Oman for 10 years. It is also possible that real or perceived use of cyanide as a CW agent by Iran, such as during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), could have been due to its acrylonitrile production capacity, a process that utilizes hydrogen cyanide—but this is mostly speculation.

Key Sources:
[1] 1999-2000 Directory of Chemical Producers: Middle East (Menlo Park, CA: SRI International, 1999), p. 18; Eldridge, ed., Jane's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defence 1999-2000, p. 26; Jane's Online, Jane's Sentinel Security Assessment; Federation of American Scientists, http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/iran/facility/parchin.htm.
[2] "Iranian Defense Companies,"Middle East Defense News (Mednews), Proliferation section, vol. 6, no. 10-11, 1 March 1993; Polyacryl Iran Corporation, http://www.iran-export.com/exporter/company/polyacril/2.htm.
[3] Kenneth R. Timmerman, "Fanning the Flames: Guns, Greed and Geopolitics in the Gulf War," The Iran Brief, 1986-1988.
[4] Gerald M. Steinberg, "Chinese Policies on Arms Control and Proliferation in the Middle East," China Report, Special Issue on China and the Middle East, no. 3-4, 1998, pp. 381-400.

	Updated February 2006