Narcissism + Conspiracy Theory ← The Delusion of Biological Assassination

A new wave of political propaganda against the United States and Israel in the Islamic Republic is based on claims of illness and death among the security and military forces of the Islamic Republic caused by microbial agents. While the increase in pollution of water, air, and food has led to a tsunami of cancer (90,000 cases and 50,000 deaths per year) and various other diseases in Iran, the deaths of some security and military personnel due to these diseases are attributed to the 'enemy.' Iranian Islamists apparently do not want to accept that their deaths are a result of their environmental policies and decisions. Interestingly, members of the ruling caste are less affected by such diseases compared to the general population, and if they do suffer, they have better access to treatment both domestically and abroad. Those making these claims share three characteristics: 1) They perceive themselves as forces soon to take over global management, and thus believe global powers insist on killing them and removing them from the scene; they think so highly of themselves that they cannot accept their ordinary and natural deaths; 2) They attribute any unpleasant matter for themselves, their families, and their preferred government to the enemy, from the prevalence of various clothing styles and improper hijab to ISIS and economic recession; this imaginary enemy is, on one hand, so powerful that it can target individuals anywhere in the world with microbial attacks, and on the other hand, 'cannot do anything'; and 3) They consider themselves the reference for truth and demand that everyone accept their words and claims without any evidence or proof. This claim has been ongoing while these individuals are notorious for fabricating stories and lying. The latest set of their claims involves biological assassination by the 'global arrogance' and the 'Zionist enemy.' Heart and lung diseases or microbial pollution have been mentioned by Nader Talebzadeh, who is hospitalized in Tehran due to heart issues and suffering from coughing up blood, who speaks of his biological assassination: 'A year and a half ago, I went to Iraq for the Arbaeen pilgrimage with a group from Lebanon. My suitcase was taken from the hotel in Najaf among hundreds of suitcases and was delivered to me in Karbala five or six days later at midnight. My laptop was emptied and thoroughly examined. Since that day I received my suitcase, I felt unwell but did not realize this incident. From that day on, I had bloody coughs. This incident that happened to me is a type of failure; if I had been aware, I would not have worn the clothes inside the suitcase or used the suitcase. We need to be cautious from here on. An American named 'Michael Kains Piper' came to Iran. He wrote an important book and was one of the Holocaust deniers. When he returned to America, he could no longer walk. I had interviewed him, and we walked several kilometers together, but he told me he could not walk even a hundred meters; a year or two later, he was found dead in his room.' (Fars, June 14, 2016) No independent scientific authority has confirmed his claim. Even military doctors who agree with him have not validated his opinion. The head of the virtual biotechnology research institute of the Medical Society of Basij, despite endorsing these demagogic statements, says: 'I did not identify the cause of his assassination because I did not observe anything.' (Tasnim, June 25, 2016) However, he continues to affirm the delusions of his Islamist colleagues: 'This incident is completely suspicious, and since he is one of those who has had many missions abroad and his positions have been clear and anti-Zionist, he has certainly been under the enemy's surveillance and has probably been the target of an assassination attempt... In fact, it should be said that the enemy has begun a new cycle of elimination methods; the Zionists have a saying, the documents of which are also available, stating that anyone who wants to confront us (the Zionists) will be eliminated by various viruses and biological methods.' (Same source) It is unclear why these individuals, who consider America their sworn enemy and see it as their inherent adversary, continually travel to this country. Lung cancer or gardening poison Bijan Nobaveh, a close associate of Talebzadeh and a former member of parliament, also makes similar claims: 'Two types of American poison were identified in my body, one of which was gardening poison used by Americans in World War II... This issue has a long historical precedent, and there are cases related to it among global leaders and figures, like Yasser Arafat, who was practically said to have been poisoned by a drug from Israel... I do not want to elaborate on this topic, but when I had my body analyzed for toxins, two types of American poison were identified in my body, one of which was gardening poison used by Americans in World War II... Considering that I had two major surgeries in America, I suspect that the poison was introduced into my body during the three hours of anesthesia... After examining my illness in Iran, doctors diagnosed that I had been subjected to bioterrorism toxins... Unfortunately, we witnessed that several clerics died after returning from America, which indicates bioterrorism against them, and their cases are also present in judicial authorities.' (Tasnim, July 9, 2016) Cancer and tumor or microbe injection Regarding cancer, Ali Dadman, a member of the Quds Force, has made similar claims: 'He was one of the Quds Force members. He had many missions. During a work trip, he was apparently arrested in Malaysia and handed over to the Americans... The Americans kept him for a month and interrogated him... Apparently, he said that the Americans injected something into his body. Later, when he was released, he went to the largest bioterrorism center in the world in Russia for treatment and was told he had completely recovered and that there was no trace of that substance in his body. But about a year later, it started to emerge from various parts of his body; a few months ago, a large benign tumor caused his kidney to be removed, and later he developed cancer.' (Arab Mazari Yazdi, Telegram) Ali Dadman was so close to the military-security band that manages Khamenei's office that Ali Khamenei personally issued a statement regarding his death. However, the news about Ali Dadman's alleged abduction or illness due to microbe injection was never reported before this storytelling after his death, and his family members did not make such claims either. No medical authority has made such claims. The list of individuals claiming biological assassination or assassination by the enemy is not limited to the three mentioned above. One member of the IRGC (Jabari) raised the possibility of the poisoning of Farajollah Selahshoor, who died of lung cancer, by the Zionists on the fortieth day after his death. (His family members did not make such claims.) One of the leaders of this movement, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, spoke several times about his assassination program during his presidency. Mohammad Ali Jafari also spoke about bioterrorism against state officials in 2013. Revisiting the Past After these claims, cases that were previously not mentioned in the context of bioterrorism are now being raised under this title. For example, the death of Saeed Kazemi Ashtiani (who died on January 3, 2006), the former head of Royan Research Institute and the Jihad University of Iran, has been referred to by domestic media as 'assassination based on poison.' This topic had never been raised in the past eleven years. To justify this, like other cases, reference is made to the sensitivity of his job: 'This genius Iranian scientist had a doctorate in embryology from Tarbiat Modares University and played a significant role in the growth of reproductive medicine, stem cell technology, and cloning in the country after the establishment of the Royan Research Institute.' (Tabnak, July 9, 2016) Thus, any official who has an important job and dies in some way is turned into a propaganda tool for the regime to spread hatred. The National Security Council and Parliament's Entry into This Issue Without Any Evidence The National Security Council is set to investigate the ongoing demagogic propaganda in this area, while the secretary of this council considers these claims to be speculation and the results of investigations to be negative: 'The possibility of the assassination of the late Dadman is a speculation, and examining this issue is time-consuming and requires precise investigations... We have had such reports before, and I instructed the formation of a team to investigate this issue on Wednesday. In these investigations, a security agency has addressed this issue related to itself but reached a negative conclusion.' (Tasnim, July 11, 2016) According to a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Parliament, the bioterrorism case was discussed in the meeting of this commission on July 13. No doctor or independent medical institution in Iran has confirmed such claims. What explains this phenomenon beyond its functions is the Islamists' view of themselves: narcissism and self-righteousness, along with the belief that major powers have no other concerns in the world except for fighting Shiite Islamists in Iran. From this movement's perspective, every decision made in Washington and Tel Aviv is aimed at stopping the wave of Shiite Islamism in the world. Thus, any member of the military-security band who loses their life due to illness is introduced as a martyr of the enemy's terrorist operations. Four Functions of These Claims These types of storytelling have, besides deceiving the people and keeping the conspiracy theory and anti-Western movement alive, four other functions for this band: 1) Justifying the Islamic Republic's biological and microbial weapons program that has been ongoing for several decades; 2) Martyrdom, which, according to Islamists, helps legitimize the power of the rulers and increase the status of government caste members in society; 3) Utilizing the benefits of martyrdom, which in Iran includes everything from the rights of the Martyrs Foundation to various services for their children; and 4) Gaining an upper hand in factional competition. These types of claims have increased at a time when the Stability Front and Ammar Headquarters did not have much success in the 2013 and 2015 elections and are seeking to demonstrate their power in the 2017 elections.