TEHRAN – Multinational military exercises in Iran are preparing to enter their most important phase on Wednesday, with organizers hailing it as an important sign of cooperation towards ensuring regional security and peace.
The Sahand 2025 joint counter-terrorism exercise began in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province earlier this week and is scheduled to end on Friday. It is held under the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and involves special forces and operational units from all 10 SCO member states: Iran, China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus. In exclusive interviews with Tehran Times, senior Iranian commanders overseeing the exercise outlined its strategic objectives and scope of operations.
Brigadier General Vali Madani Zadeh, training commander and operational deputy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) ground forces, emphasized the importance of this training in the wake of recent regional conflicts. He said this serves as a counter-narrative to the Western, especially American, geopolitical narrative on terrorism. “For the past 47 years, Iran has been the biggest victim of terrorism, but it has also been labeled by some Western countries, including the United States, as a sponsor of terrorism,” he said.
The United States claims that Iran’s support for regional resistance groups fighting Israeli occupation and expansionism amounts to support for terrorism. Meanwhile, multiple former U.S. officials have said in recent years that the U.S. government has long provided funding to notorious terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda and ISIS. Notably, Western countries recently presented the former Daesh second-in-command and head of al-Qaeda’s branch during the terrorist group’s growing insurgency in the 2010s as someone who could “rebuild” Syria and create a democratic state. Forces led by a former terrorist leader overthrew Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024.
Regarding other reasons for the importance of the ongoing training, General Madani Zadeh pointed to the overall importance of the SCO. “SCO member states account for a quarter of the world’s land area and almost half of the world’s population. Our cooperation can significantly enhance security around the world.”
In separate comments to Tehran Times, Brigadier General Noshad Abdali, the operational commander of the exercise, provided details of the tactical execution of the exercise. He is also the commander of the Revolutionary Guards Ground Forces Imam Hassan Brigade, a special unit focused on the fight against terrorism.
“Terrorism knows no borders, but our will is higher than terrorism…Wherever the terrorist phenomenon emerges, we will darken the days of terrorists there,” he explained, adding that the main live-fire phase of the exercise will include complex joint exercises. Two of these matches will be played against Belarus and Uzbekistan. “We will carry out two joint missions with teams from Belarus and Uzbekistan, including hostage rescue operations and border clearance operations,” the commander further said, focusing on practical counter-terrorism and stabilization scenarios.
The last SCO joint exercise was held in China in 2024, with Iran also participating as an observer. “Future exercises will see our strong presence as we did this year,” General Abdali declared. Iran became a full member of the SCO in July 2024. This organization was founded in 2001.