Just days after Iran fired missiles at military bases in Iraq, Russia’s foreign minister has reiterated that Moscow supports full membership for Tehran in a Eurasian security bloc sometimes viewed as an aspiring counterweight to NATO and the West, according to CNS News.

Axar.az reports citing Mehr News that speaking at a geopolitics forum in New Delhi, Sergei Lavrov noted that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) includes China, five former Soviet republics (Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan), India, and Pakistan.

“Iran is an observer and we are supportive of the Iranian request for full membership,” Lavrov said. “And most of the [SCO] countries support this request and I’m sure this would be satisfied.”

Russia holds the bloc’s rotating presidency this year and will host its annual summit in July.