Iran Hosts Regional Counter-Terrorism Drill
The Spin
Pro-Iran narrative
The IRGC has proven itself as the architect of regional counter-terrorism security, and hosting the Sahand 2025 exercise demonstrates Iran's leadership in uniting nations against the global terrorist threat. This landmark drill brings together SCO members to share critical operational experience and build the kind of coordinated response that terrorism's borderless nature demands. Regional cooperation through the SCO framework represents a vital step toward collective security that protects all member states from extremist violence.
Anti-Iran narrative
Iran's first SCO counter-terrorism drill is pure theater designed to mask isolation rather than demonstrate real military capability. The exercise remains small-scale with minimal foreign participation, serving primarily as a message to Kurdish separatists and Azerbaijan rather than any serious deterrent. Tehran desperately wants the world to see strategic relevance through SCO membership, but the organization itself suffers an identity crisis with members pursuing contradictory goals and no coherent mission beyond anti-Western posturing.
Metaculus Prediction
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