SCO to Play Leading Role in World’s Future: Iran’s Velayati

In an interview with Tasnim, Ali Akbar Velayati characterized the SCO summit, held on August 31-September 1 in Tianjin, China, as a watershed moment in global politics, signaling a shift away from Western-dominated institutions.

Founded in 2001, the SCO is a political and security alliance comprising ten members, including China, Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus.

“The 25th SCO summit was held with the participation of more than 20 non-Western world leaders, as well as the Secretary General of the United Nations,” Velayati said. “This summit was the largest and most important compared to past summits. The initial assessment of political experts is that this summit was one of the most important international meetings in the history of the world.”

He outlined three major impacts from the gathering. “Firstly, the sound of the breaking of the bones of the United Nations was heard by the people of the world,” he stated. “It can be practically declared that the beginning of the phase of consigning this organization to history, like the League of Nations, has begun.”

He further asserted China’s rising dominance. “Secondly, China showed that it is the world’s first power potentially, and in the near future, it will be the world’s first power in actuality,” he said.

“Thirdly, China showed that with patience and composure, it is silencing the sound of (US President Donald) Trump's footsteps.”

In response to the question of what positive points the SCO summit brought, Velayati said that after years of successful rule, Xi Jinping was able to reap the fruits of the important and determined efforts he had made based on Chinese wisdom at this summit and even brought his old rival, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to Beijing.

He stressed that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has achieved valuable results earlier than America and the West thought, which will undoubtedly play a leading role in determining the fate of the world in the future.

All the SCO member states, especially China, Russia, and Iran, play a very important role because these three countries, plus India, are truly independent countries and have the power to maintain their independence, he said.  

Velayati went on to say that Iran has shown that it has the capacity of a great country and was able to defeat the United States in the 12-day war, referring to the Israeli and US aggression on Iran back in June, which was met with the Islamic Republic’s decisive response that forces Tel Aviv and Washington to call for a ceasefire.

Earlier this week, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian urged the SCO to adopt practical measures for fostering peace and advancing economic collaboration among its member states, emphasizing Iran’s readiness to play an active role in strengthening collective initiatives.

Addressing the 25th SCO summit in Tianjin on Monday, Pezeshkian described the organization as a key pillar of multipolarity in the emerging world order. He stressed that the SCO should pursue two parallel paths: implementing concrete steps to ensure a more peaceful international environment and creating favorable conditions for the expansion of economic cooperation among its members.