After welcoming the guests at the start of this conference, Dr. Mollanazari stated that the cruel sanctions imposed by the US, given all of their devastating effects, could be turned into a great opportunity, especially if the roots of oil in our economy were terminated, and thus threats and intimidations can be turned into opportunities and prospects.
Dr. Sadri-Nasab, Head of CISSC and President of the International Economy and Sanctions Conference, welcomed the high-ranking guests, especially the Foreign Minister, Dr. Mohammad-Javad Zarif and said that the Center for International Studies and Cooperation (CISSC) of the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology is organizing dozens of projects in the form of programs such as Jondi Shapour and Pietro Della Valle, to promote quality and quantity, as well as to exchange ideas and opinions among national and international experts. He also stated that due to the importance of the sanctions issue, members of the conference's strategic committee from Shahid Beheshti University, Al-Zahra University, Tehran University and Allameh Tabatabaei University, made great efforts in organizing this conference. Referring to the presence of guests from Russia and Cuba, Dr. Sadri-Nasab added that a large number of scholars, executives and experts attended the conference. He also stated that 100 research papers had been submitted to the Scientific Committee of the Conference, 51 of which had been accepted.
Further, the keynote speaker of the World Economic Forum and Sanctions Dr. Mohammad Javad Zarif, our esteemed F
 Foreign Minister, called the United States’ hostile policy against our country economic “terrorism”, referring to the US Secretary of State's remark that the Iranian government needs to change its policies  “if they want their people to eat”, calling starvation a manifestation of war crimes and terrorism. In his remarks, Dr. Zarif highlighted the need to use non-dollar currencies in economic exchanges as one way to counter US sanctions.
The Conference on International Economy and Sanctions was held by the Center for International Studies and Cooperation (CISSC) and Al-Zahra University in order to help develop knowledge and research in the field of economics,  offer practical solutions in this area and to provide an opportunity for all researchers, faculty, and students to present their research articles and achievements in order to take steps in contributing to the country's advancement and development and effectively tackling the sanctions.