<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">A joint meeting of the Pugwash Conferences and the Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was held in Tehran on Saturday, May 17, 2025, attended by a group of former ministers, current officials, directors, and senior experts.</p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">During the meeting, key issues such as the right of states to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, lessons learned from past interactions, potential aspects of future agreements, and the necessity of respecting Iran's rights in the peaceful utilization of nuclear energy were subjected to in-depth discussion and examination.</p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Participants in the meeting, citing the results of research published by reputable research institutes, emphasized that sanctions have not only failed to achieve their declared objectives, including inducing changes in the target country's policies, but in many cases have also yielded counterproductive results.</p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">In this regard, attendees stressed the necessity for the immediate lifting of all sanctions imposed on Iran. Furthermore, strategies for moving towards the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ) in West Asia were discussed and deliberated upon.</p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">It is noteworthy that the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs were founded in 1957, during the Cold War era, by Joseph Rotblat and a group of anti-war scientists. The main objective of these conferences and specialized workshops has been to work towards the reduction of nuclear armaments and the prevention of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).</p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;"> </p>