Iran’s accession to SCO will boost security, counter Western hegemony: Analyst

Iran’s accession into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will help promote security and prosperity in Asia, and counter Western hegemony, says an Iranian political analyst.

Mohammad Marandi, a professor at University of Tehran, made the comment in an exclusive interview with Press TV on Tuesday after Iran officially gained full-fledged membership of the SCO.

“It is an important moment in contemporary history with all the changes taking place, the decline of the West, the multiple wars that we’re seeing and rising tensions in East Asia and of course the atrocities that we continue to see in Palestine,” Marandi said.

“While this is happening, the economy is moving away from the West, the global economy, the center of economy and commerce and trade and production is moving to Asia and Iran is part of Asia,” he added.

The Iranian political analyst emphasized that in order to enhance the well-being of the Iranian people and people throughout Eurasia, there must be increased cooperation and alignment of interests.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) offers such a platform, enabling enhanced security, prosperity, and shielding Asian countries from the imposition of Western agendas, he added.

Stressing that the West is currently grappling with a range of issues, including confrontations with Russia and China, Marandi said the West should change its hostile policies toward the Islamic Republic.

“By building up these new relationships, its (Iran’s) fortunes are improving, so under such circumstance, the US and Europe have to show greater flexibility in dealing with Iran,” the professor added.

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Iran gained full-fledged membership of the SCO on Tuesday, during the 23rd virtual summit of the SCO hosted by India, becoming the ninth member of the bloc, which also includes China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.

Being a Eurasian political, economic, international security and defense bloc, the SCO boasts to be the world's largest regional organization in terms of geographic scope and population, grouping around 40 percent of the world population in approximately 60 percent of Eurasia.

Iran first applied for membership in the alliance 15 years ago, but it took until 2021 for the request to be approved.

The SCO, which has its headquarters in China, was set up in 2001 and its members work to tackle joint security issues, cooperate militarily and promote internal trade.

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