President Rouhani of Iran
The Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) is scheduled to meet next month. Principally, the group was set up to improve relations between Russia, China and other Asian countries. However, it is often billed as a counterweight to Nato.
Surprisingly, President Rouhani of Iran has been asked by China to attend the key anti-Nato summit.
Both Russia and China have promised to support the Iranians after President Trump said two weeks ago that he would pull out of the 2015 nuclear deal and re-impose sanctions. It is hardly surprising then that serious consideration is also now being given to Iran’s application for full membership SCO.
It must be noted that China's advances to Iran are not unconnected to the present circumstances in which the Iranians have found themselves. It appears it is all about trade.
Although Russia has consistently argued for the SCO to take on a security role in opposition to America’s role in Asia, rather the Chinese have chosen to move more deftly. For now they are happy to use the situation to promote their trade policies.
However, the aforementioned are all independent of EU's overtures to Iran. The Europeans have been weighing up the pros and cons of jumping into bed with Iran in defiance of President Trump.
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