Conference on Middle East WMD-Free-Zone Convenes

December 2025

International diplomats began another effort to advance a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East when they met Nov. 17 in New York. The sixth session of the Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction, presided over by Morocco, is due to last through Nov. 21.

“The people of the Middle East deserve stability and peace, but the threat of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction is pushing this promise out of reach,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in an opening statement. “A zone free of these scourges would ease tensions and prevent the worst-case scenario from ever coming to pass.”

The goal of the annual conference is to negotiate a legally binding treaty to establish a weapons-of-mass-destruction-free zone in the Middle East, as mandated by 2018 General Assembly. The Arab League; Iran; Israel; four of the five nuclear-weapon states recognized under the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty; and the members of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons attended.

During the conference, member states called for greater engagement from nuclear weapons states. Previous sessions have laid the groundwork of substantive and procedural matters, with the fifth session focusing on development of an index of topics for future sessions.—LIPI SHETTY