Image: SIPRI Chairman Emeritus Ambassador Rolf Ekeus (left) and former Iranian Foreign Minister Dr Ali Akbar Velayati in Tehran.
On 10–12 October a five-member delegation from SIPRI travelled to Tehran, Iran, to participate in a round-table seminar organized by the Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS), a leading foreign policy think tank and the research arm of the Iranian Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
Representing SIPRI were Ambassador Rolf Ekéus (SIPRI Distinguished Associate Fellow and former Chairman of the SIPRI Governing Board), SIPRI Senior Researchers Shannon Kile and Dr Jaïr van der Lijn, Ambassador Lars-Erik Lundin (SIPRI Distinguished Associate Fellow) and Dr Tariq Rauf, Director of the SIPRI Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-proliferation Programme.
Participants in the round table discussed the status of the ongoing negotiations in Vienna regarding Iran’s nuclear programme, and developments in multilateral disarmament and non-proliferation initiatives. They also discussed regional security issues and emerging threats to stability.
While in Tehran, the SIPRI delegation held a number of private meetings with senior Iranian officials. These included Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American Affairs, Majid Takht-Ravanchi—who delivered a SIPRI lecture in Stockholm in November 2013—and the commander of the Iranian Anti-Narcotics Police, General Ali Moayyedi.
The delegation also met with the head of the Centre for Strategic Research of the Expediency Council, Dr Ali Akbar Velayati. Dr Velyati, who is a former Foreign Minster, serves as a foreign policy advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The visit was part of a research project funded by the Danish Ministry for Foreign Affairs.