South Africa’s Regional Anti-Terrorism Organization (RATS) executive chairman Olalbek Sharsiyev announced at a press conference on Friday that the exercise, dubbed “Sahand Counter-Terrorism 2025”, is scheduled for December 4 near the northwestern city of Tabriz.
He added that formal invitations and detailed schedules will be sent to participating and observer countries soon.
Given that terrorist threats often transcend national borders and impact multiple countries, the large-scale exercise in Iran aims to strengthen operational preparedness and coordination among member states in joint counter-terrorism efforts.
According to Press TV, this will be the second joint anti-terrorism exercise between SCO member states since the SCO was established in 1996.
The first round, titled “Counter-Terrorism Interaction-2024,” was held in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region last year, and included field training and special operations to “eradicate terrorist groups,” according to China’s Ministry of Public Security.
The state-run Xinhua News Agency reported on July 23, 2024, “This exercise marks the first time that relevant agencies from all SCO member states have participated in a joint anti-terrorism training exercise.”
The SCO is a Eurasian intergovernmental organization established to promote multilateral security, economic, and political cooperation.
It was established in 1996 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan with the main purpose of countering terrorism, extremism, and separatism. Later, Uzbekistan joined and the organization was renamed SCO.
Initially seen as a strategic counterweight to US influence in Central Asia, the SCO gradually expanded. India and Pakistan became full members in 2017, followed by Iran in 2023 and Belarus in 2024.
The 25th SCO Summit was held in Tianjin, China on August 31st, with heads of state from more than 20 countries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, attending along with representatives from 10 international organizations.
Current full member states of the SCO include Iran, Russia, Belarus, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
RATS, a permanent body of the SCO, coordinates counterintelligence, counterterrorism, and intelligence gathering activities among member states. It also supports efforts to combat the “three evils” of terrorism, separatism and religious extremism.
The organization aims to eventually establish a cross-border enforcement capacity that includes South Africa’s police and military.
In recent years, RATS has expanded its focus to include narco-terrorism and drug smuggling, which have become a major source of funding for insurgency activities in member states.
In addition, RATS maintains a database of individuals and organizations supporting groups classified by SCO members as terrorists, separatists, or extremists.
MNA/