Majlis (parliament) of Iran approved by a majority of votes a bill on the accession of the Islamic Republic to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). This was reported by TASS with reference to the Mehr agency.

According to the agency, 205 parliamentarians voted in favor of the bill, 3 opposed, and 4 abstained. The spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Majlis, Abolfazl Amuyi, quoted by the agency, said that “the condition for Iran’s membership is the approval of all documents that have been adopted by the organization so far.” “If the SCO approves any new document in the near future Mejlis will also have to consider and approve it,” Amuyi stressed.

On September 30, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi signed a bill on the country’s accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. According to the Young Journalists’ Club agency, Raisi sent the draft law for consideration to the country’s parliament.

On September 15-16, the SCO summit was held in Samarkand. The leaders of the participating countries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, gathered at a meeting in a narrow and expanded format, and also held a series of bilateral meetings. As a result, the process of admission to the association of Belarus as a full member was launched; Iran signed a memorandum of commitment in order to join the SCO. Egypt and Qatar have become dialogue partners, while Bahrain, Kuwait, Maldives, Myanmar and the UAE have begun the process of acquiring this status.