Tehran Seeking to Promote Multilateral Defense Diplomacy

Iran is seriously seeking to promote multilateral defense diplomacy and actively participate in regional and international security arrangements, a top security official said. 
Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Ashtiani made the remarks during his address at a ministerial gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization hosted by India on Friday, IRNA reported. 
He also underlined that the Islamic Republic’s defense doctrine relies on national, regional and international capacities and follows immutable principles for deterrence, adding that concepts such as preservation of regional peace through collective cooperation and multilateral relations are seriously on its agenda. 
“The perennial message of Iran’s defense doctrine is that of peace, stability, friendship and security for all neighboring countries and other states of the region and the world,” he said.
Membership in organizations that operate on the basis of multilateralism, such as the SCO, receives special attention in Iran’s foreign policy doctrine, since they can be the intersection of global interests and common security, according to the minister. 
Enjoying parameters of political, economic and security power across its geographical and geopolitical territory, the SCO today has a heavy responsibility regarding the formation of a new global order and actualizing collective and cooperative security, he added. 
Ashtiani later pointed to a number of issues that that the organization needs to focus on, including terrorism, extremism and cybercrimes. 
Illicit drug smuggling, as a pervasive global problem and a threat to human life, is another important issue that the SCO needs to attend to, according to the minister. 
“Given its transit situation, Iran has a unique capability for fighting drug smuggling and has incurred great material and human costs along this line so far,” he explained. 
He expressed Iran’s readiness to share its experiences with other SCO member states, calling for better and more serious cooperation within the organization to combat this phenomenon. 
Insecurity in sea transit routes and disruption in shipping, bioterrorism, proxy wars, separatism, natural disasters and environmental challenges where among other issues that need further attention by the SCO, according to Ashtiani. 
The defense minister also put forward some suggestions for the betterment of the organization’s strategies and guidelines. 
He proposed that a mechanism of “Shanghai marine security belt” be established within the organization’s secretariat with the participation of member states’ armed forces for the purpose of preserving the security of transportation routes and guaranteeing global trade collectively. 
Considering the emergence of new threats, the SCO could also make long-term plans for designing appropriate structures in cyber and cognitive defense sectors, he said. 
Ashtiani finally expressed the Islamic Republic’s readiness to further cooperate with SCO member states in areas such as joint marine maneuvers, sharing anti-terrorism information, tackling natural disasters and epidemics. 
Iran is currently an acceding member to the SCO, which is a Eurasian political, economic, international security and defense organization.
Current full members include China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Iran was an observer state since 2005, but the SCO launched the procedures of its accession in September 2021
In September 2022, Iran signed a memorandum of obligations to join the SCO and will officially become a member subject to the parliament ratifying a number of agreements.
The Iranian parliament approved Iran’s membership to the SCO in November 2022.