In the wake of deeply troubling events, a powerful and comprehensive statement has emerged from Iran, articulated by the Iranian Association of Ethics in Science and Technology. This statement, issued in July 2025, is not merely a reaction to conflict but a profound call for ethical reconstruction, both nationally and internationally, confronting the devastating consequences of aggression and its underlying causes.
The Human Cost of Conflict: A Stark Reality
The statement begins by recounting the direct targeting of Iranian land and people in early June 2024, detailing a brutal twelve-day assault. It paints a grim picture of widespread casualties among commanders, military personnel, scientists, researchers, and civilians. Military bases, research centers, social service facilities, residential complexes, and critical national infrastructure were all left in ruins.
Alarmingly, the statement highlights how even shared human heritage and the safety of academic institutions were jeopardized, underscoring the indiscriminate nature of modern conflict.
Beyond the Battlefield: A Crisis of Ethics and Governance
A critical aspect of the statement is its unsparing critique of the broader context. It notes with concern the “effective and explicit support” of some global powers and the actions of certain international bodies, which complicated the conflict’s dimensions. This leads to a profound ethical challenge posed to intellectuals, activists, and scientific and civil institutions worldwide: to awaken the global community’s conscience and call for the defense of truth and justice.
The Association emphasizes several key areas for urgent attention:
- Empowering Civil Society: It urges cultural, scientific, professional, and civil figures to break their silence and actively engage with the public, leveraging their networks to speak out without hesitation.
- Reforming Governance: Sociologists are called upon to mend the relationship between governance and civil society, advocating for a shift from undesirable strategies and towards a more responsive, inclusive approach. Prudent governance, it asserts, lies in preventing danger and harnessing the intellectual capabilities of elites and broad public participation.
- Rethinking National Security: True national security, the statement argues, cannot be achieved through restrictive, unilateral, or exclusive approaches. It requires understanding societal diversity, ensuring easy access to information, eliminating discrimination, and prioritizing public opinion.
- Confronting “Infiltration” and “Despair”: The Association bravely calls for an ethical self-assessment of how long-standing projects of “infiltration” and “despair,” coupled with enemy technological dominance, have taken root. A lack of proper understanding of these threats is deemed a critical flaw.
- Valuing Human Capital: It stresses that the utilization of scientific institutions and the capabilities of military elites in defense depend on protecting these “proud children of the nation”—scientists and defense forces—rather than merely mythologizing them after their loss.
A Call for a Just and Peaceful Future
The Iranian Association of Ethics in Science and Technology, along with its partners, explicitly condemns the instigators of this war and demands their legal prosecution in international forums. They also advocate for a fundamental re-evaluation of practices that allow security-centric approaches to override the vital roles of scientific and civil institutions. Reclaiming the public role of civil institutions is seen as essential for strengthening national empathy against foreign aggression.
The Association firmly believes that a dynamic and capable civil society, coupled with an academic community enjoying freedom and independence in creativity and anthropology, are the bedrock for the nation’s survival, integrity, and dignity.