Eastwards Shift at SCO Summit: Iran Seeks Diplomatic Alliances amid Global Geopolitical Turmoil
Iran Joins Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Shifts Eastward in Foreign Policy
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has expanded its membership with Iran joining as a full member in 2023, marking a significant shift in the Middle Eastern nation's foreign policy. This move follows Belarus's accession to the bloc in 2024.
The SCO now comprises ten member states, including China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus. This bloc claims to represent approximately 40% of the world's population and about 30% of its economic output.
Iran's decision to join the SCO is seen as an effort to pursue cordial ties with Russia and China to counter the US-dominated global order. The Islamic Republic's goal is to increase its military cooperation with China and to find a degree of insulation from the worst outcomes of its strained relations with the West.
The US and Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear program in June have made many politicians in Tehran give up on the hope for reconciliation with the West, leaving no alternative but to 'look east'. This move has pushed Iran and Gulf Arab states closer together, as the eastward orientation of Iran's foreign policy follows the broader move towards a greater degree of multipolarity in the global order.
The eastward shift is also evident in Iran's efforts to improve relations with Middle Eastern rivals, particularly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Gulf leaders have succeeded in establishing communication channels with Iran, offering a degree of insulation from the worst outcomes.
Europe currently has little influence over Iran due to its proximity to Russia and China. The European sides' inclusion in the JCPOA was largely due to the strong trans-Atlantic alliance at the time, and correspondingly, the influence Europe could exert on US foreign policy. However, Washington's support for Israel's strikes and talk of regime change in Tehran is seen as reckless adventurism by Gulf leaders.
The meeting between the Iranian and Saudi foreign ministers in Beijing in March 2023 caused quite a stir. Tehran's avoidance of targeting Gulf interests or closing the Strait of Hormuz is widely attributed to this diplomacy.
Another 16 countries are affiliated as observers or "dialogue partners" with the SCO. This includes several countries from the Gulf region, such as Bahrain, Maldives, Myanmar, United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait, which became dialogue partners in 2023.
More than 20 leaders, including Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, are attending the gathering in China, hosting the largest meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) since its founding in 2001.
The Islamic Republic is less isolated in the Global South, particularly in the Middle East, indicating increasing strategic autonomy of the Global South where Western states are less able to dictate or lure countries into their own desirable foreign policy direction. This shift towards the East promises to reshape the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East and beyond.
