Why it matters:
At the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council of Foreign Ministers held in China on Tuesday, more than 120 countries and international and regional organizations, including the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, BRICS, and the SCO, have determined to reach a main goal among others, that is to strengthen multilateralism against U.S. unilateralism.
The big picture:
The summit fosters dialogue on current international issues. On the sidelines of the summit, meetings with the Chinese and Russian foreign ministers, as well as with several other SCO member state representatives, are on the Iranian Foreign Minister's agenda.
What he's saying:
Araghchi proposed four recommendations:
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.
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.
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 crime, and cyber threats;
Deepen media and cultural integration among member states as a means of countering cognitive warfare and one-sided narratives promoted by the media arms of hegemonic powers.
Araghchi also referenced recent aggression by Israel and the United States against Iran, stating: “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 added: “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 emphasized: “No legal rule allows peaceful nuclear facilities under safeguards to be targeted for attack based solely on political speculation.”
Hossein Amiri
