Iran officially became a full-fledged member of the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) during a meeting of the grouping earlier this month. The virtual meeting,

Iran officially became a full-fledged member of the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) during a meeting of the 

 earlier this month. The virtual meeting, held on 

, was chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who welcomed Iran’s entry into the SCO. Iran became 

In the aftermath of the China brokered Saudi-Iran agreement, Tehran has been seeking to strengthen its foreign policy linkages, both within the 

, and to shed the perception that it is isolated. The membership of SCO is an important step in this direction. Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi dubbed Iran’s entry into the SCO as a foreign policy triumph, saying that this happened in spite of the west’s efforts to

 Iran. The Iranian President also said that Iran’s membership of SCO will 

"collective regional security, while expanding ties and communications and strengthening unity among member states"

It would be pertinent to point out, that Iran has good relations with both India and China. In the aftermath of the US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action JCPOA/Iran nuclear deal, Tehran moved closer to China, and signed a 25-year strategic agreement with China in 2021. This was referred to as 

 Under this agreement, China had made a commitment of investing $ 400 billion over a period of 25 years with a specific focus on areas like 

, the latter has failed to draw significant investments from China. On the other hand, Beijing’s economic relations with Gulf countries have strengthened significantly since 

In spite of the US sanctions on Tehran, the latter is strategically important for India. The 

 is important for India from the perspective of regional connectivity – as a gateway to Afghanistan and Central Asia (India has sent 

 of wheat to Afghanistan via Chabahar). It would be pertinent to mention that India has invested in and developed Phase 1 of Shahid Behesti Port in Chabahar ( An Indian company India Ports Global Private Limited (IPGPL) has been handling operations of Shahid Behesti Port since 

The Chabahar Port also has the potential of being a link with Russia and Europe via the 

International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

 India has been pushing for the inclusion of Chabahar in

While Iran has been seeking to balance its ties with India and China and would like to benefit from its membership of the SCO, it remains to be seen as to how the strained ties between India and China impact the SCO. India had refused to approve a para pertaining to support to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the joint statement issued after the virtual meeting held on 

July 4, 2023 (in the 2022 SCO meeting as well,  India had opposed a similar para).

Here it would also be important to point out, that while India welcomed entry of Iran into the SCO, several Chinese commentators welcomed the entry of Iran for the reason, that it would keep India in check. Several Chinese commentators have stated that Iran’s entry into SCO will prevent India from 

 the SCO. It has also been said on certain 

, that India has also been accused of being the only member country, in the SCO, to oppose the BRI.

In conclusion, the entry of Iran into the SCO is important not only in the context of its strategic goals and economic vision, but also regional connectivity. It will also be interesting to see how Iran’s entry will impact the SCO – specifically in the context of the strained relations between China and India.

Iran's SCO membership and the Iran-China-India triangle

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