Iran Press/ Europe: Sergei Lavrov, who is in New Delhi, India, said: "Iran is an observer member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and Russia and most of SCO member states support Iran's request for permanent membership in the organization.
Russia is chairing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and will host its annual meeting in July.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is an intergovernmental organization set up for multilateral political, economic and security cooperation.
The organization was founded in Kazakhstan, on 15 June 2001, by Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Later, India and Pakistan joined the organization.
Iran, Afghanistan, Mongolia, and Belarus are currently observer members within the organization.
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