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Islamabad, Pakistan – A two-day conference of BRICS ministers in New Delhi ended on Friday without a consensus on the war with Iran, and the bloc the following document admitting only that “different opinions” remained among the members.
It was the second consecutive BRICS summit in India to fail making a deal on the dispute between the United States and Israel.
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The conference was inaugurated on Thursday at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi under the chairmanship of India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. It was the first major ministerial meeting under India’s 2026 BRICS presidency.
The 10-member group of developing countries is coordinating economic and security issues as they seek a greater voice in the Global South in Western-dominated institutions. A summit of leaders is expected to take place in September in India.
The meeting was held in the background of US-Israel War on Irannow in his 77th day.
The latest conflict began on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran’s military, nuclear and infrastructure sites. Since then, Iran closed a Hormuz River to commercial shipments, international energy prices have increased and diplomatic efforts, including Negotiations between Pakistan in Islamabad last month, he stood up. The US also established a naval blockade at Iranian ports on April 13.
The BRICS summit was held US President Donald Trump’s visit in China, the first by an American president to visit Beijing in almost a decade. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was in Beijing, so China was represented at the BRICS meeting instead by its ambassador to India, Xu Feihong.
Along with Araghchi, the meeting was attended by Sergey Lavrov of Russia, Mauro Vieira of Brazil, Ronald Lamola of South Africa, and the foreign ministers of Indonesia, Egypt and Ethiopia.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the ministers he visited before his trip to Abu Dhabi.
The United Arab Emirates sent Khalifa bin Shaheen Al Marar, its foreign minister, in place of its foreign minister.
The Iran-UAE conflict
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi initially avoided mentioning the UAE in his speech after the meeting began. Later, he said that it was not self-restraint but “for the sake of maintaining unity”, according to Iranian media.
Araghchi urged BRICS members to clearly condemn what he called the US and Israel’s “violation of international law” and to “take steps to stop the escalation and end impunity for those who violate the UN Charter”.
“We believe that BRICS can, and should, be one of the main pillars in the creation of a fair, fair and humane global system, a system that cannot be wrong,” he said.
The representative of the UAE, Al Marar, used his voice to refer to Iran in his national speech and called for condemnation of Iran’s actions, according to media reports.
The exchange revealed a deeper crisis within the enlarged bloc, which now includes Iran and the UAE as full members despite the two standing on opposing sides.
After all the countries had spoken, Araghchi asked for the floor again.
“The UAE was directly affected by the brutality of my country,” he told the meeting, according to Iranian media. “When the threats started, they didn’t issue a reprimand.”
He accused the UAE of allowing the US to use Emirati territory to attack Iran and said Emirati planes were involved in the protests.
“Yesterday it was revealed that the UAE warplanes participated in the war against us and did something against us. Therefore, the UAE is cooperating with them in this violence,” he said, according to Iran’s IRNA news agency.
Araghchi also criticized Abu Dhabi for not condemning the attack on a school in the city of Minab on the first day of the conflict, in which Iran says at least 170 students were killed.
Iran, he argued, attacked not only the UAE, but only US military bases in Emirati territory.
The UAE denied this. Abu Dhabi says Iranian militants have targeted electronics and civilian areas in the country, and have seized more than 2,800 Iranian drones and missiles since then. February 28.
Al Marar, for his part, reiterated the UAE’s desire to condemn Iran’s threats to energy and other weapons.
India’s Jaishankar, who is chairing the dispute, called for “safe and unimpeded maritime navigation through international waters, including the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea”, adding that unilateral sanctions “cannot replace dialogue, and coercion cannot replace dialogue”.
He also reminded the members that “it is important for BRICS to make good progress so that later members appreciate and accept BRICS cooperation on various important issues”.
On the sidelines, Jaishankar held a bilateral meeting with Araghchi and later written on X that they had “detailed” discussions about regional developments and cooperation between the two countries.
There is no agreement again
This was not the first BRICS meeting in India to end without agreement on the Iran war.
On April 24, India hosted the second meeting of foreign ministers and special envoys of BRICS in the Middle East, in New Delhi. The meeting ended without a joint statement, and India only gave a summary of the chair.
Iran pushed for language recognizing that the US and Israel had started the conflict, while the UAE wanted a word of condemnation. The attack on Iran in the Gulf states.
Since February 28, BRICS has not issued a single statement regarding the war, led by India.
A follow-up document released at the end of this week’s meetings highlights the challenges.
On the debate in the Middle East, it said only that “there were different views among some members” and listed the main points – the need for dialogue and negotiations, respect for sovereignty, the continuous movement of the sea and the protection of civilian lives – without naming any party or assigning responsibility.
Iran’s demands that the organization condemn US and Israeli aggression have not been met. The UAE’s insistence on language opposing the strike on Iran has not been met.
Speaking at a press conference at Iran’s embassy in New Delhi on Friday, Araghchi appeared to blame the UAE – a BRICS member with its “special relationship with Israel” – because there was no consensus document at the end of the meeting.
“The only reason he suspended the final statement was his support for Israel and the United States in their attack on Iran, which is very sad,” Araghchi said.
The Iranian ambassador went on to say that the country in question could not be protected by the US and Israel, and that the US military equipment designed to provide security had become a source of security. “This was proven in this battle,” Araghchi said.
The document condemned the “implementation of coercive measures inconsistent with international law”, language widely interpreted as referring to US sanctions on Iran, although Washington was not named.
In other respects, the meeting was very fruitful. Member countries have agreed on more than 60 issues, including energy cooperation, trade, technology, climate change and international change.
Why is it important?
For Jauhar Saleem, a former Pakistani diplomat, the results were not surprising.
“BRICS is an organization with very important countries, but it is still a diverse group with different foreign interests, views and opinions,” he told Al Jazeera.
On the Iran war in particular, he said consensus was not appropriate.
“There was no chance of an agreement to begin with, and negotiations on a joint statement are expected to be a wet squib,” he said.
Saleem argued that the episode marks a major shift in international dialogue.
“Bloc politics will be useless at this time when the most cohesive alliances are on the verge of breaking down,” he said.
The powerhouse, he added, plays to Pakistan’s strengths.
Islamabad wants to position itself as a mediator between Washington and Tehran, conducting discussions last month when to organize transportation and both sides.
“Pakistan’s good relations, which focus on two countries, are appropriate in these times when traveling through diplomatic channels is the norm and not the norm,” Saleem said.
“Pakistan’s extraordinary negotiation goes to the confidence it has built based on international principles rather than being swayed by short-term interests.”
