Iran willing to expand military cooperation

“We are ready to share the experience of America’s defeat with other members of the organisation,” announced Iran’s Deputy Minister of Defence Reza Talei-Nik on Tuesday, April 28. The minister was attending a meeting of SCO defence ministers in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was established in June 2001 by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Russia. Since then, India, Pakistan, Iran, and Belarus have joined the organization.

The SCO cooperates in several areas. Within the security sector, member states focus on combating terrorism, separatism, and extremism. During the 2025 summit in Tianjin, the organisation’s members decided to establish an SCO Development Bank to reduce dependence on the U.S. dollar. The same summit also addressed cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence. It was decided that China would build an AI cooperation center for member states.

The SCO is intended to serve as an alternative to international organisations dominated by the United States. This is a key issue for countries such as Russia and China, which are particularly interested in weakening American hegemony and promoting a so-called multipolar world.