TEHRAN – The majority of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states have begun their roles in ongoing joint military exercises scheduled to end on December 5 in northwestern Iran.
General Valli Madani, commander of the exercise and head of the exercise executive committee, announced the news at a press conference on Tuesday.
“Most SCO member states are sending troops to join special forces participating in training. Some countries are also sending representatives to join the Joint Chiefs of Staff for operations during training,” the commander explained.
General Madani added that the outline of the first phase of the “Joint Counter-Terrorism Exercise Sahand 2025” will be announced on December 4.
According to the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, the exercise is extremely important.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always been at the center of the fight against terrorism and terrorist groups, and more than 17,000 of our compatriots, women and children, were killed by terrorists,” he said on Monday, underscoring the importance of the fight against terrorism.
Also on Tuesday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf stressed that the large-scale joint counterterrorism operation sends an important message to the hegemon. “This exercise demonstrates the seriousness of independent nations to protect themselves from oppressive approaches around the world,” said Khalibaf.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s defense cooperation and joint measures with other countries are constantly expanding,” he added.
The exercise is hosted by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) ground forces and is taking place in Iran’s northwestern East Azarbaijan province. These follow on from the SCO’s first joint anti-terrorism exercise, Interaction 2024, which was held in China in July 2024.
SCO was founded in 2001 and is the largest regional organization in terms of geographic area and population. Iran will officially become a full member state in 2023, strengthening the organization’s focus on regional security, economic projects, and cultural exchanges among its eight member states.