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Iran seeks membership in SCO for public relation purposes

Iran Materials 12 November 2011 15:47 (UTC +04:00)
Iran’s membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will not bring it any real benefits other than the country’s appearance which is not isolated internationally.
Iran seeks membership in SCO for public relation purposes

Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 12 /Trend T.Konyayeva/

Iran's membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will not bring it any real benefits other than the country's appearance which is not isolated internationally, U.S. Northeastern University Professor Kamran Dadkhah said.

"Membership in the SCO will give the appearance of the acceptance in the world and Iran can use it as a propaganda tool to counter its image of a pariah state," Dadkhah told Trend via email. "In reality, membership in the SCO and other similar organizations would have no real benefits for Iran other than being used for public relation purposes."

On Friday, Iranian Supreme National Security Council's Secretary Assistant Ali Bageri said Iran seeks to become a full member of the SCO, INTERFAX reported.

Currently, Iran, India, Mongolia and Pakistan have an observer status in the six-nation SCO.
The SCO is a regional international organization established in 2001 by the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

However, in spite of Iran's yearning for joining the organizarion, the SCO is unlikely to admit Iran as a full member in the bloc beacuse of the international sanctions imposed on the country over its nuclear activities, Dadkhah said.

"The main obstacle officially announced by the SCO is that no country which is under the UN sanctions can become a SCO member," he said.

Iran's refusal to abandon its nuclear activities has resulted in resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council in 2010, as well as additional unilateral sanctions approved by the U.S. Congress and the foreign ministers of all EU countries, which were primarily directed against the banking, financial and energy sectors of Iran.

There are also practical and political difficulties in accepting Iran as a full member, Dadkhah said.

"One objective of the organization is economic cooperation, perhaps including a free trade area and even a banking system. If a member country is under the UN sanctions, the U.S., and the EU, the organization will be put in a very difficult position." he said. "Either the SCO has to exclude Iran from these activities or finds itself in a confrontation against the Western economic powers."

Taking into account that the SCO seeks to become an economic powerhouse to be reckoned by the West it does not want overt confrontation, Dadkhah added.

"Furthermore, in the past, member states conducted joint military exercises. Iran's participation in such war games means direct confrontation with the U.S," he said.

Despite Iran has received support from China and Russia, two SCO member states, it has paid a heavy price.

"Russia has deprived Iran from almost all its rights in the Caspian Sea," he said. "Iran does not even want to enter into negotiations on the Caspian Sea because it is afraid that it will lose even further due to its weak position."

Actually, Dadkhah thinks that Iran has become an isolated country with the economy badly damaged by international sanctions. It caused decline in Iran's oil production to 3.6 million barrels per day, high inflation and unemployment rates.

"Iran has to come to term with the West and indeed with the world if it wants to have a prosperous future," the expert said.

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