Tehran – Meeting in China’s Tianjin on Monday for the biggest summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Asian power leaders showed a growing resolve to diagrammatically deviate from the West, which is increasingly defined by the struggle of Western policies and European links.
Iranian President Masuud Pezeshkian has joined more than 20 foreign leaders at the SCO summit, including India’s Narendra Modi, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and Pakistan’s Shebaz Sharif. Iran became a member of the SCO in 2024, and its administration under the late President Ebrahim Raisi, who was particularly keen to develop close ties with Asian countries.
The SCO was founded in 2001 and is currently comprised of 10 countries. After expansion last year, member states have increasingly called for organizations to transform into hubs for deeper cooperation and multilateral exchange. Donald Trump’s return to the White House and his aggressive trade policy has forced countries to further move towards the global south in recent months.
In his speech at the summit, Pezeshkian highlighted one of Iran’s most important concerns: Western sanctions. “The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that one of the key pillars of multipolarization of the international system, the Shanghai Cooperation Agency should take practical, clear and concrete measures on two parallel paths.
To strengthen economic ties among SCO members and protect them from the weapons of Western sanctions, Pezeschkian proposed “accounts and settlements of Shanghai cooperative organizations.”
The initiative will strengthen member states by promoting domestic currency settlements to reduce dependence on the US dollar, establishing secure shared digital infrastructure using central bank digital currencies for efficient payments, and creating a multilateral currency SWAP fund that supports states targeting sanctions and weather resistance crises.
“We believe that the implementation of this initiative will not only increase the economic resilience of our members, but also transform the Shanghai cooperative organization into a successful model for establishing a multipolar, just and resilient financial order against external pressure,” the Iranian president explained.
The president also pointed to Iran’s unique geographical and transport status, as well as access to various parts of the world. He said that given these characteristics, Iran is ready to promote trade between other member states and create regional ties.
Most of Pezeschkian’s political statements took place at another summit called Shanghai Plus. He advised the US and Europe to end their conflicting approach in foreign policy and to accept diplomacy instead. “Iran is ready to find a diplomatic and peaceful solution to the issues surrounding the nuclear energy program,” the president said.
Another important development regarding Iran was the condemnation of US-Israel airstrikes targeting Iran this June. The SCO “very strongly” condemned aggression, and issued a joint statement characterising attacks that have hit civilian, nuclear and military locations, as a scented violation of international law, the UN Charter and Iran’s sovereignty. “Such actions pose a serious threat to peace and stability and put international security at risk, both locally and globally,” the statement read.
SCO member states also emphasized the “important” need for the permanent security of nuclear facilities, even during war, to protect their people and the environment.
The statement took up the European invocation of the so-called snapback mechanism. This will regain pre-JCPOA sanctions against Iran if not suspended or extended within a month. SCO members have reiterated Iranian stance since 2018, when the US officially left the JCPOA and Europe. Europe has abolished that commitment.