Iran urges SCO for collective security arrangement

TABNAK, Jul. 15 - At the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Abbas Araghchi proposed the formation of a collective security forum to tackle security challenges facing the member states.

News ID: 6606

Date: 15 July 2025 - 15:05

Addressing the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council of Foreign Ministers held in China on Tuesday, the top Iranian diplomat made four suggestions, one of which was the formation of a collective security body to tackle security challenges facing the member states.

1. Establish a permanent mechanism to monitor, document and coordinate responses to military aggression, acts of sabotage, state terrorism, and violations of national sovereignty of member states;

2. Establish a “Center for Studies and Counteraction against Unilateral Sanctions” tasked with developing strategies to counter illegal economic sanctions and protect the supply chains, banking systems and trade exchanges of member states;

3. Establish a “Shanghai Regional Security Forum” with the participation of defense and intelligence agencies of member states to address shared threats such as terrorism, extremism, organized crimes and cyber threats;

4. Deepen media and cultural integration among member states as a means of countering the cognitive war and one-sided narratives promoted by the media arms of hegemonic powers.

Prior to proposing the four recommendations, Araghchi referred to the recent Israeli regime and the United States' aggression on Iran, saying that "The Israeli aggression against Iran was a clear violation of Article 2, paragraph 4, of the United Nations Charter and constituted an armed act of aggression. Even worse, this act of aggression has dealt a fatal blow to diplomacy, the rule of law, and the nuclear non-proliferation regime."

He further noted that "The attacks carried out by the United States and Israel against peaceful nuclear facilities were a flagrant violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), numerous International Atomic Energy Agency resolutions, and United Nations Security Council Resolution 487 — which explicitly condemns and prohibits attacks on nuclear facilities under Agency safeguards."

The Iranian minister further highlighted that "No legal rule allows peaceful nuclear facilities under safeguards to be targeted for attack based solely on political speculation.", Mehr reported.