WANA (Jul 15) – Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, at the 25th Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), referring to the aggressive actions of the United States and the Israeli regime, said:

 

“I request the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to examine the situation of aggression as soon as possible and to adopt a decision aimed at providing the necessary political support.”

 

Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, delivered a speech at the 25th Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and here is the main part of his remarks:

 

“At the outset, I would like to sincerely thank the People’s Republic of China for hosting this important meeting. Today, more than ever, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization stands at the forefront as a major multilateral institution that advances regional and international cooperation and confronts unilateralism and emerging threats.

 

Let me begin my remarks by drawing the attention of the audience to a deeply alarming development in the West Asia region: the aggressive act and armed attack carried out by the Israeli regime and the United States of America against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

 

In the early hours of Friday, June 13, the Israeli regime launched brutal terrorist and military attacks against my country.

 

Residential areas and public, civilian infrastructure were deliberately targeted; several military commanders who were resting in their homes with their families were brutally assassinated; university professors and scientists were also killed; innocent civilians, including women and children, were massacred; and our peaceful nuclear facilities, operating under IAEA safeguards, were attacked.

 

The subsequent involvement of the United States of America in this act of aggression—by targeting Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities—left no doubt that the U.S. is fully complicit in the Israeli regime’s war of aggression against Iran.

 

The 25th Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Social media/ WANA News Agency

During these armed attacks, over 6,850 innocent people were martyred or wounded, a significant portion of whom were children and women. In one of these criminal and terrorist operations, this rogue regime killed fifteen members of a single family.

 

It is of utmost importance that the gravity of these crimes—and the extremely dangerous consequences of continued impunity for the Israeli regime’s occupation, apartheid, genocide, and warmongering across West Asia—be fully and properly understood and condemned.

 

The Israeli regime’s aggression against Iran was a clear violation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, constituting an act of armed aggression. Even worse, this act has dealt a fatal blow to diplomacy, the rule of law, and the nuclear non-proliferation regime.

 

The attacks carried out by the United States and Israel against peaceful nuclear facilities constitute a grave violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), several resolutions of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and UN Security Council Resolution 487, which explicitly condemns and prohibits attacks against nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards.

 

No legal rule allows peaceful nuclear facilities under safeguards to be attacked based merely on political speculation.

 

The issue of insecurity in the West Asia region will remain unresolved so long as the lawless and rogue behavior of the Israeli regime continues under the protection and encouragement of its supporters.

 

It is deeply regrettable that in the past two years, the international community has failed to take effective action to stop the genocide of the Palestinian people or to end the occupation of neighboring Arab lands by the Israeli regime. In fact, the aggression committed by the Israeli regime against Iran is a direct result of the total impunity that this regime—mainly due to the United States and certain European countries—has enjoyed; impunity that enables it to commit any crime in our region without fear of accountability.

 

I would like to sincerely thank the esteemed member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, who—recognizing their grave responsibility in maintaining international peace and security—have strongly condemned the aggression committed against my country by two nuclear-armed militaries.

 

Today, it is our duty, as members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, to speak out clearly and in unison—as the recognized voice of the Global South.

 

We must play our role as defenders of international law and multilateralism, and uphold the fundamental principles of the United Nations, including the sovereign equality of nations and the prohibition of the use of force.

 

In this context, and based on the decision of the SCO Council of Heads of State (No. 2, dated June 7, 2012, Section 5, Clause 5.2), I hereby formally request the SCO Council of Heads of State to examine the situation of aggression as soon as possible and adopt a decision to provide the necessary political support and other relevant assistance to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Araghchi at the 25th Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Social media/ WANA News Agency

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, possessing vast geopolitical, economic, and human capacities, can—and indeed must—play a central role in addressing emerging threats, especially state terrorism, military aggression, cognitive warfare, and unilateral sanctions.

 

Today, we are facing a complex phenomenon: the integration of state terrorism, extremism, media warfare, economic sanctions, and cyber threats—all employed in a scheme aimed at weakening national independence, toppling sovereign governments, and exerting control over the resources and destinies of nations.

 

In confronting these realities, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization must adopt a more active, independent, and structured stance. The organization must not only protect the interests of its member states but also serve as a model of a responsible, balanced, and participatory regional order.

 

We believe that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is well-positioned to serve as a foundation of the emerging multipolar global order and must decisively confront unilateralism, militarism, and attempts to undermine the sovereignty of states. The way forward is one of cooperation, synergy, and mutual trust.

 

In this regard, the Islamic Republic of Iran respectfully submits the following priorities and proposals aimed at enhancing the SCO’s role and effectiveness:

 

1. Establishing a permanent mechanism for monitoring, documenting, and coordinating responses to military aggression, sabotage, state terrorism, and violations of the national sovereignty of member states;

 

2. Creating a “Center for Studies and Counteraction of Unilateral Sanctions” tasked with developing operational strategies to resist illegal economic sanctions and protect supply chains, banking systems, and trade exchanges among member states;

 

3. Establishing a “Shanghai Regional Security Forum” with the participation of defense and intelligence institutions of member states to address common threats such as terrorism, extremism, organized crime, and cyber threats;

 

4. Deepening media and cultural convergence among member states as a tool to counter cognitive warfare and the one-sided narratives promoted by the media arms of hegemonic powers.”