Chief of Staff of Iran�s Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri has said that the Islamic Republic of Iran will increase its military relations with Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) after receiving membership.


Chief of Staff of Iran�s Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri made the comments on Sunday, two days after the SCO�formally accepted Iran as the new member of the�Eurasian�political,�economic, and�security�alliance during its� Friday�summit in�Dushane, Tajikistan.

General Bagheri described Iran's membership in the Shanghai organization as�a great and extremely important development.

He said "the SCO includes most of Asia and comprises more than 40 percent of the world's population and wealth," adding that "the pact also includes major industrial and military powers, with members of the organization committed to each other."

The Chief of Staff of Iran�s Armed Forces further also said, "Iran's permanent membership in the�agreement, which was achieved despite the opposition of the United States and Europe, is a happy and great development and certainly has a positive effect on repelling threats against the Iranian nation."

Source: Mehr