Iran Hosts IRGC-Led SCO Counterterrorism Drill in East Azarbaijan

Overview

• The exercise began on December 1 at the IRGC’s Imam Zaman Mechanized Brigade area in Shabestar County and is scheduled to conclude on December 5.
• Iranian officials say units from SCO member states are taking part, with the drill framed as strengthening regional cooperation against terrorism, separatism, and extremism.
• IRGC statements say the event was organized under directives from Iran’s General Staff in coordination with the Foreign Ministry and the SCO’s RATS executive committee.
• State media cite more than 17,000 Iranian victims of terrorism as context for the exercise, a figure presented by IRGC spokesmen without independent verification in these reports.
• Coverage notes an inconsistency in the codename reported as Sahand-2025 by IRNA and Sahand-205 by PressTV, while outside analysts describe the drill as small and largely symbolic.