Raisi took office in August last year and has since led Iran’s foreign policy towards what he describes as neighbors first, with neighbors meaning countries in the region. He has also pursued a policy to engage Iran in regional international organizations.
25-year Tehran-Beijing strategic partnership
Economic, political, and cultural commonalities have pushed Iran and China towards expansion of cooperation. They share views on a range of regional and international issues, including fighting COVID-19, cooperating in vaccine production projects, combating terrorism, countering US bullying, promoting multilateralism, and cooperating on the Road and Belt Initiative.
In January 2022, during the travel of Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian to China, the implementation of the agreement was announced: an agreement believed to be transitioning the relationship between Iran and China.
The agreement is aimed at implementing the sixth paragraph of the joint statement of the presidents of Iran and China in January 2015 to improve bilateral ties to comprehensive strategic cooperation and pave the way for all-out cooperation between the two countries.
20-year Tehran-Moscow strategic agreement
President Raisi arrived in Moscow on January 19, 2022, heading a high-profile delegation to prepare the ground for working on common threats and opportunities.
Raisi’s speech before Russia’s State Duma and vis-à-vis conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin were among the most important events of the visit.
The biggest achievement of the Moscow trip of the President was the start of the 20-year Iran-Russia cooperation roadmap. The foreign ministers of both countries were tasked to prepare the roadmap for the cooperation.
The relationship between Iran and Russia after the disintegration of the USSR could be interpreted as cooperation to make a coalition against the West.
Iran’s foreign policy in recent years has been based on expansion of ties with all countries, especially those countries that act independently from the hostile policies of the US and the West.
Ascension to SCO
The biggest achievement of the Raisi administration in foreign policy to date was Iran’s ascension to Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The eight members of the SCO agreed to grant Iran full membership of the organization in the summit held on September 16, 2021, in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
BRICS welcoming Iran
Iran’s long-pursued membership in the BRICS, a grouping of five emerging markets, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, has come to the center of focus recently, especially after the war in Ukraine began.
During the 14th summit of the BRICS in July 2022, President Raisi addressed the summit as a guest invited by Chinese President Xi Jinping and elaborated on Tehran’s view on the most important international issues and its desire to expand trade and economic ties with other nations.
In the meantime, Iranian officials announced that Tehran has officially submitted its request to become a member of the grouping, only nine months after the SCO ascension was accepted.
Iran’s geolocation and its countless opportunities in energy, transit, and trade activities have made the BRICS take a more serious stance on the country’s request. Iran is highly interesting for those emerging markets and powers.
Iran is located along the golden route of East-West transit which is essentially in China’s focus as the biggest exporter in the world. China could transport its goods through Iran which is the safest, cheapest, and shortest path, and buy its energy and raw sources needs from Iran and other Middle East countries.
The first Chinese cargo train to pass through Iran departed on June 22, 2022, opening a new international highway through the Caspian Sea and Iran towards the Middle East and the West.
In conclusion, in the current situation that the West using the sanctions tool to pressure non-aligned countries to accept their demands, the cooperation between emerging markets could ruin their calculations. As a result, different actors in the world, especially the BRICS members, have come to conclude that they need special monetary and economic mechanisms for themselves as a hedge against the American-European order.
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