Iran calls for multilateralism as Shanghai group's defense ministers meet

Iran’s defense minister has warned about growing attempts by the West and US-led NATO military alliance to create a unipolar world, saying the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) should be after consolidation of balanced policies and expansion of multilateralism.

Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani made the remark in a meeting of SCO’s defense ministers in the Indian capital of New Delhi on Friday.

Ashtiani pointed to the positive role played by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in regional and international developments over the past decades, saying the SCO’s achievements are indicative of the realities and future horizons of the strategic organization.

“Since its establishment, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, by following an intelligent, influential and role-playing path, has now become an instrumental institution in global trends and a guarantor of peace and stability and respect for the rights of nations,” Ashtiani told the meeting.

The minister touched on the “inevitable” role and position of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

“Global geostrategic rivalries with military and security approaches are intensifying. Regional competitions in different regions of the world are exacerbating under the influence of aggressive and divisive policies of some big powers,” Ashtiani said, warning that, “The expansionist and hegemonic policies of the West and NATO and the effort to revive the unipolar and hierarchical world have accelerated.”

Pointing to the actions of the West and NATO in the Ukraine crisis, the Iranian defense minister said, “Proxy wars and terrorism are in the hands of some big powers as tools of superiority. The foundations of the arms control system, non-proliferation and international treaties are under serious threat.”

Stressing that the SCO enjoys diverse and extensive social, cultural, economic and security capacities that are influential in its global and regional roles and functions, Ashtiani said, “Therefore, it should be expected that the organization’s valuable experiences and achievements would be used more to strengthen balancing policies and develop multilateralism.”

Ashtiani underlined that the SCO member states share the responsibility for designing a new world order, adding, “We need a common understanding in the Shanghai Organization to resolve different security challenges in the world."

The top Iranian official also said, "The message of the defense doctrine of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a message of peace and friendship for the region and the world."

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• Iran: SCO can serve as effective force against unilateralism

‘Iran both a terrorism victim and counter-terrorism leader’

Elsewhere in his speech, Ashtiani touched upon the issue of terrorism across the world and the dual policies in fighting the heinous phenomenon.

“Terrorism, in its various forms, is spread by different factors such as extremism, discrimination and injustice, ignorance and backwardness, interests and interference of some powers,” he said.

“The biggest problem in the world community to overcome this phenomenon is the use of double standards,” he said. “The Islamic Republic of Iran is both a victim of terrorism and a leader in the fight against terrorism, and in this way, it has sacrificed distinguished martyrs and great heroes.”

The SCO was founded by China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan in 2001, and currently forms the world's biggest regional market with eight official and four observer members.

The organization accounts for 40 percent of the world's population and 28 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP).

Iran and the organization started a formal process for Tehran’s accession to the bloc in March 2022. In September of the same year, Iran signed a memorandum of commitment to join the SCO. A month later, the Iranian parliament approved the country's accession to the organization.

The Islamic Republic's membership is expected to be completed during the SCO's ongoing summit in New Delhi.

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