The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has launched a five-day joint anti-terrorism exercise codenamed Sahand-2025 in Iran’s northwest province of East Azarbaijan under the command of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
Commander of the drills Brigadier General Vali Ma’dani announced the official launch of the exercise at a press conference on Tuesday saying it aims to strengthen coordination among SCO members in combating terrorism.
“SCO member states Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Russia, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Kazakhstan, Iran, India and Belarus are participating in the drills,” said the IRGC Commander.
“Representative of neighbouring countries Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Iraq are participating as guest observers,” he added.
He said Sahand-2025 was planned under instructions by General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran in cooperation with the Foreign Ministry and SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS).
In 2023, Iran became a full member of The Shanghai Cooperation Organization which is a Eurasian body of 10 member states. As a regional organisation, it fosters political, economic, international security and counter-terrorism cooperation.
Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said that hosting the Sahand-2025 anti-terror exercise is “an act of coalition-building in line with the new architecture of regional security”.
He said the exercise reflects Tehran’s efforts to contribute to a new regional security framework while Iran’s long experience in combating terrorism can help harmonise practices among SCO member states.
“Iran has gained valuable experience in confronting all forms of terrorism, and the drills provide a platform for transferring and harmonizing experiences among the SCO member states,” the Iranian diplomat said.
Iran has used its membership in international and regional organisations to increase trade and security cooperation as well as to gain support for its civilian nuclear program.
Last November, prime ministers of SCO in a joint statement issued in Moscow backed Iran’s right of peaceful nuclear energy and rejected the western pressure on Tehran to freeze its enrichment capability.
The Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers will meet on Monday to discuss a global rise in oil prices and a joint r...
Recent operations by the U.S. military have led some to believe that a decapitating strike is a silver bullet capable of fixing any foreign policy ...
Bahrain’s state-owned oil company Bapco has declared force majeure after an attack set the country’s only refinery ablaze. The firm say...
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stori...
Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader on Monday (9 March), signaling th...
Recent operations by the U.S. military have led some to believe that a decapitating strike is a silver bullet capable of fixing any foreign policy problem swiftly. However, this logic is flawed, and the risks of relying on swift, targeted actions are too great to ignore.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 9th of March, covering the latest developments you need to know.
A 35-year-old former rapper is on track to become Nepal’s next prime minister. Early counting in the elections on Friday (7 March) showed Balendra Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was leading in around 100 seats, far ahead of rivals.
Officials in Azerbaijan have said they have stopped terror attacks in Azerbaijan including on an Israeli Embassy, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and a Synagogue. Tensions between regional and global powers escalate. Military activity, security alerts and travel disruptions continue.
Trump says the United States "don’t need people that join wars after we’ve already won," targeting his criticism at UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Israel continues to fire missles at strategic sites in Iran and Gulf regions report more strikes from Iran.
Baku has completed its evacuation of staff from the Azerbaijan Consulate General in Tabriz, while most employees from the Azerbaijan Embassy in Tehran have also returned.
Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport came under attack in heavy airstrikes on early Saturday morning (7 March), Iranian news agencies reported.
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened further attacks on Iran on Saturday (7 March), while the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia continued to shoot down missiles in their airspace. Meanwhile, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran would stop attacking its neighbours.
Russian attacks on Ukraine’s second largest city in the early hours of Saturday (7 March) killed 10 people, including two children. Kharkiv mayor, Ihor Terekov, said 10 residents died after a Russian ballistic missile hit a five storey apartment block in the city.
Bahrain’s state-owned oil company Bapco has declared force majeure after an attack set the country’s only refinery ablaze. The firm says domestic supplies remain secure, but operations are disrupted by the ongoing Middle East conflict, underscoring regional energy risks.
Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader on Monday (9 March), signaling that hardliners remain firmly in charge, as the week-old U.S.-Israeli war with Iran pushed oil above $100 a barrel.
An Israeli air strike and tank shelling killed six Palestinians, including two girls, in Gaza City on Sunday (8 March) in two separate attacks, local health officials say.
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is a hardline cleric with strong backing from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. His rise signals continuity in Tehran's anti-Western policies.
After days of high-altitude competition and fierce rivalries and despite challenging conditions in Shahdag, Europe’s top athletes pushed to the summit in one final test of endurance before the competition finished.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment