The Sahand-2025 anti-terrorist drills involving member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) have commenced in northwestern Iran, Colonel Shahram Askarian, deputy spokesman for the IRGC land troops, confirmed.

Member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will conduct joint counter-terrorism drills in Belarus next year, Yevgeny Sysoyev, head of the CIS Counter-Terror Center, announced on Thursday.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin has already produced several surprises, and one of the most notable concerns the China–India dynamic. Observers note that Washington’s attempt to pressure New Delhi over its purchases of Russian oil has backfired. Instead of driving a wedge between the “Asian Dragon” and the “Asian Elephant,” U.S. actions have nudged these long-standing rivals toward rapprochement.

In the Chinese city of Tianjin, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, a meeting took place between President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.

Editor's note: Seymur Mammadov, a special commentator for News.Az, is the director of the international expert club EurAsiaAz. The article expresses the personal opinion of the author and may not coincide with the view of News.Az.