Iran hosts SCO anti-terror drill
A large-scale anti-terror exercise of the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) kicked off in Iran’s northwestern province of East Azarbaijan on Monday.
Hosted by the Ground Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), the drill, named “Sahand-2025,” will run for five days in Shabestar county, said a statement by the IRGC.
The exercise has been designed under a directive from the General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces and the IRGC, with cooperation from the Iranian Foreign Ministry and the Executive Committee of the SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure, said Shahram Askarian, the IRGC Ground Force’s public relations deputy.
He pointed to the strategic importance of the exercise, saying it could enhance regional security cooperation.
Referring to over 17,000 victims of terrorist attacks in Iran over the past decades, Askarian said that the country had played a key role in fighting terrorist groups.
The drill is expected to bolster international cooperation against terrorism and enhance the capabilities of participating nations in addressing security challenges in the region, according to the official.
Sahand-2025 is the second joint counter-terrorism drill conducted by the SCO member states. The first, coded “Interaction-2024,” was held in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in July last year.
The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic and international security organization grouping China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan, Iran and Belarus.