The Shanghai Cooperation Organization: “Much ado about nothing”?

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On September 17th, 2021, Iran’s application to become the ninth member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was officially approved at the 20th summit held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The event, hailed as a major diplomatic victory for Tehran, symbolises the rapprochement that the new Iranian government is pursuing with its eastern neighbors, primarily China and Russia. The approval of Iran’s membership in the SCO in 2021, far from being a shift, and even if the regional and global context has changed considerably, is part of the continuity of the foreign policy pursued by Tehran for several decades, a policy through which the Islamic Republic seeks to “circumvent alliances” to better resist the United States and its allies. Becoming a full member of the SCO would, according to some observers, open important prospects for Tehran. But what is the real situation? Doesn’t the Russian war in Ukraine, which began in February 2022 and now weighs on the global context, also upset the calculations?