In a meeting with Mr. Ebrahim Soltani, the mayor of Sardasht the membership certificate of this city was delivered to him by Dr. Mohammadreza Soroush, the board president of the Tehran Peace Museum.  

“Promoting a culture of peace around the world and eliminating the weapons of mass destruction through cultural and social activities” said Dr. Soroush, “is the primary goal of the Mayors for Peace”. He continued that the Mayors for Peace’s membership of the two cities of Hiroshima, as the first city which has been victimized by atomic bombs and Sardasht, as the first city which has been attacked by chemical weapons is a unique feature for this organization. 

“The Iranian Secretary of Mayors for Peace” concluded Dr. Soroush, ”which is located in Tehran Peace Museum, is run by volunteer members and many of them are victims of chemical weapons.” 

On 28th of June 1987, four mustard gas bombs were dropped in Sardasht in West-Azarbaijan Province of Iran by Iraqi forces during the Iran-Iraq war and Sardasht become the first city in the history to be victimized by chemical weapons. Sardasht joined the International Organization of Mayors for Peace on July 2007.