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International-UN-NGOs

Iran's entry will help turn SCO into anti-NATO

2023-07-07

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Gevorg Miryazin

[REGNUM] There are many countries wishing to become partners of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), their applications will be considered upon completion of the modernization of this international structure, TASS quoted Bakhtiyor Khakimov , Special Representative of the President of Russia for SCO Affairs, on July 5.

An important step towards "restarting" the Shanghai Organization - which seems to be encouraging other countries to consider joining the SCO - was taken on July 4 at the SCO summit. Iran has been added to Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran will now participate in our organization in a full-fledged format. I want to sincerely congratulate on this and from the bottom of my heart greet the President of Iran, Mr. Ebrahim Raisi," Vladimir Putin said . The Russian leader noted that the Iranian partners joined the SCO quickly - less than two years passed from the declared intention to the completion of all necessary procedures.

"Full membership in this important organization will provide Iran with conditions for collective security, opportunities for sustainable economic development, for ensuring sovereignty to a greater extent than before," Ebrahim Raisi welcomed new colleagues.

"I am pleased to say that Iran is joining the SCO family as a full member," said the nominal host of the summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi . This statement is hardly just a diplomatic figure of speech.

The expansion of international clubs is not always a good thing. If a country joins the organization that is not ready for collective action, then it paralyzes the work of the organization. So, for example, Poland acted in relation to the EU, regularly vetoing the development of cooperation between Brussels and Moscow. If countries join the organization that do not share its goals and objectives, then the organization is not only paralyzed, but also falls apart, which is what happens with the same European Union, which is still unable to recover after the entry of the Eastern European states.

But Iran in the SCO is not the case, experts say. In their opinion, the replenishment of the Shanghai Organization is beneficial not only for Tehran, but also for partner countries, this will bring the organization to a new and extremely beneficial level for Russia.

WHY IS TEHRAN INTERESTED
Actually, Iran's interest is very simple. First, safety. The SCO was originally created with a focus on ensuring collective security in the Central Asian region (Central Asia and Afghanistan). Iran is also interested in this security - and not only in terms of providing, but also participating in the process of forming the rules of the game.

Given the problems with Afghanistan (for example, recent border skirmishes over the division of water resources, Afghan drug trafficking, terrorists entrenched in adjacent territory), difficult relations with Tajikistan, a potentially unstable border with Pakistan, the Islamic Republic wants to be a player, not a spectator in the Central Asian chess board. And to play it is necessary to participate in the SCO, a key structure for ensuring regional security.

The second reason follows from this - status. “Membership in the organization is quite prestigious for Tehran. This is a demonstration that the country, despite all the efforts of opponents, is not in isolation, ” Fyodor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of the Russia in Global Affairs magazine, told Vzglyad . Moreover, this is not about status for the sake of status, but about obtaining tools for constructing the space around oneself.

For a long time, the Iranians were in fact in international isolation, surrounded by hostile countries (Azerbaijan), partners of hostile countries (Pakistan, which is an ally of Saudi Arabia) or states that were weary of the Iranian presence (Iraq).

This isolation has led to the fact that Iran - for all its potential - has always been tried to keep it out of Middle Eastern affairs. Local countries viewed it as a foreign element. Now the Iranians are becoming full members of an organization that ensures security in the vast Central Asian region, and in the future (in the event of further expansion of the SCO) can also provide security in the Middle East.

Third, the Iranians are counting on economic benefits. “Iran is getting additional opportunities for the economy suffering from sanctions,” Middle East political scientist Abbas Juma explains to IA Regnum . Through participation in the SCO, the Iranians plan to be more actively involved in various infrastructure projects that Beijing is promoting in the Eurasian direction. “By actively participating in SCO initiatives, Iran can use its geographic advantage to become a vital transit hub and facilitate trade between East and West,” said Mohsen Bakhtiar, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to China .

In addition, the Iranians get the opportunity to participate in ridding the global economy of the dominance of the dollar. “The hegemony of the Western world contributes to the hegemony of the dollar. In order to create a new economic order, it is necessary to remove this instrument of hegemony in world practice, to use national currencies in settlements between countries,” Raisi said.

In fact, the participants of the SCO summit also spoke about the de-dollarization of world trade. In particular, Putin, who said that 80% of all commercial transactions between the Russian Federation and China are in rubles and yuan, as well as Xi Jinping , who called on all member countries to increase trade in national currencies. And this is not just about changing the order of trade, but about rewriting the rules of global economic relations. “Tehran believes that the new economic order in the world will be arranged by the heads of the SCO member states,” Juma says. Therefore, it is necessary to participate in the SCO.

NEW PLAYER CHANGES THE WHOLE TEAM
In turn, including Iran in the SCO, the member countries of the Organization follow one of the basic laws of international relations. Namely, not to exclude the most important regional player from regional security structures.

Otherwise, the real balance of power, coming into conflict with the artificial structure of security, sooner or later breaks it — as happened with the European system, from which the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia were excluded after the Crimean, World War I and Cold Wars.

Now, after the inclusion, Iran will not oppose the Shanghai Organization, but will direct all its resources to achieve common goals. “Iran's full membership in the SCO will, of course, strengthen the organization and make a tangible contribution to collective security. Iran's capabilities surpass those of many members of the organization,” Abbas Juma explains. In this case, the common goals are the fight against terrorism, the establishment of bilateral ties between member countries and, of course, the formation of a new world order.

It was the formation of a new order, and not the creation of an alternative or reserve order, which some countries - members of the SCO used to count on. To some extent, Iran's entry into the organization has become a symbol of the evolution of the worldview of its members, the transition from attempts to avoid an open conflict with the West to the realization of the inevitability of this conflict.

“Iran has been languishing for a long time“ in the waiting room ”of the SCO. Moscow has always been in favor of full participation in the team, but there were those who were skeptical about the entry process. First of all, China, Juma notes. —

Beijing did not want to turn the SCO into an anti-NATO, and the entry of Iran would automatically give the SCO an anti-Western coloring.

The fact that Iran joined demonstrates that Beijing has decided to actively resist Western hegemony. “And here Iran already looks organically - in the new context of the fight against the dollar, the formation of an alternative economic system to the West, and the like,” the source notes.

In fact, Iran is actively integrating into the new Eurasian order, which is being formed by China and Russia.

“Based on the name, it is clear that the SCO is a structure that primarily corresponds to China’s strategic long-term interests and its plans, such as One Belt, One Road,” political scientist Yevgeny Satanovsky told Expert . - Those states that benefit from participating in such projects join the organization. SCO members have the opportunity to trade more without looking back to the US, the EU and pro-Western structures like the G7. In this sense, the SCO works best for countries that have problems with the West, and now it is Russia.”

Given this transformation of the SCO, Iran will not be its last acquisition. “The authority and influence of our association continue to strengthen, interest in its activities from other states and international structures is growing. Many of them are striving to establish an equal dialogue with the SCO and are considering the possibility of joining its work. They trust us, they want to be friends and cooperate with us,” Vladimir Putin said.

First in line is Belarus, which signed a memorandum of intent. Its inclusion in the Organization will make the SCO a player defending its interests from Western encroachments not only in Central Asia and the Middle East, but also in Europe.

Posted by:badanov

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