{"id":6661,"date":"2026-05-15T12:35:48","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T12:35:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/15\/why-the-iran-conflict-is-becoming-a-problem-for-brics\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T12:35:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T12:35:48","slug":"why-the-iran-conflict-is-becoming-a-problem-for-brics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/15\/why-the-iran-conflict-is-becoming-a-problem-for-brics\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Iran conflict is becoming a problem for BRICS"},"content":{"rendered":"<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p><strong>Islamabad, Pakistan \u2013<\/strong> A two-day meeting of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/5\/14\/iran-war-why-the-brics-foreign-ministers-meeting-in-india-matters\">BRICS foreign ministers<\/a> in New Delhi ended on Friday without a common position on the war on Iran, with the bloc\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mea.gov.in\/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl\/41144\">outcome document<\/a> acknowledging only that \u201cdiffering views\u201d remained among members.<\/p>\n<p>It was the second consecutive BRICS gathering in India to fail to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/3\/6\/is-brics-bloc-divided-over-us-israel-attacks-on-iran\">produce a consensus<\/a> on the conflict involving the United States and Israel.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 4 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/opinions\/2026\/3\/19\/chinas-silence-on-iran-reveals-its-true-priorities\">China\u2019s silence on Iran reveals its true priorities<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/5\/14\/iran-war-why-the-brics-foreign-ministers-meeting-in-india-matters\">Iran war: Why the BRICS foreign ministers meeting in India matters<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/video\/2026\/5\/14\/brics-meeting-overshadowed-by-war-on-iran\">BRICS meeting overshadowed by war on Iran<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 4 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/5\/14\/iran-urges-brics-nations-to-condemn-us-israeli-war-aggression\">Iran urges BRICS nations to condemn US-Israeli war aggression<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>The meeting opened on Thursday at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi under the chairship of Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. It marked the first major ministerial engagement under India\u2019s 2026 BRICS presidency.<\/p>\n<p>The 10-member grouping of emerging economies coordinates on economic and security issues while seeking a greater voice for the Global South in institutions long dominated by Western powers. A leaders\u2019 summit is scheduled for September in India.<\/p>\n<p>The meeting unfolded against the backdrop of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/4\/11\/us-iran-talks-on-ending-war-begin-in-pakistan\">US-Israel war on Iran<\/a>, now in its 77th day.<\/p>\n<p>The latest conflict began on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iranian military sites, nuclear facilities and infrastructure. Since then, Iran <span>closed the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/4\/19\/what-to-know-about-us-iran-standoff-over-the-strait-of-hormuz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Strait of Hormuz<\/a><\/span> to commercial shipping, global energy prices have surged and diplomatic efforts, including <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/4\/12\/us-and-iran-fail-to-reach-peace-deal-after-marathon-talks-in-pakistan\">Pakistan-mediated talks<\/a> in Islamabad last month, have stalled. The US also imposed a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/4\/14\/how-much-will-us-hormuz-blockade-hurt-iran-and-does-tehran-have-an-escape\">naval blockade<\/a> on Iranian ports on April 13.<\/p>\n<p>The BRICS meeting coincided with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/5\/14\/trump-xi-discuss-strait-of-hormuz-as-chinese-vessels-transit-key-waterway\">US President Donald Trump\u2019s state visit<\/a> to China, the first by an American president to Beijing in nearly a decade. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was in Beijing, so China was represented at the BRICS meet instead by its ambassador to India, Xu Feihong.<\/p>\n<p>Alongside Araghchi, the meeting was attended by Russia\u2019s Sergey Lavrov, Brazil\u2019s Mauro Vieira, South Africa\u2019s Ronald Lamola, and the foreign ministers of Indonesia, Egypt and Ethiopia.<\/p>\n<p>Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the visiting ministers on the sidelines before departing for Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n<p>The United Arab Emirates sent Khalifa bin Shaheen Al Marar, its minister of state for foreign affairs, rather than its foreign minister.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"iran-uae-confrontation\">Iran-UAE confrontation<\/h2>\n<p>Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had initially avoided naming the UAE in his formal address once the summit began. Later, he said that it was not an act of restraint but \u201cfor the sake of maintaining unity\u201d, according to Iranian state media.<\/p>\n<p>Araghchi urged BRICS members to explicitly condemn what he described as US and Israeli \u201cviolations of international law\u201d and to \u201ctake concrete action to halt warmongering and bring an end to the impunity of those who violate the UN Charter\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe believe that BRICS can, and must, become one of the principal pillars in shaping a more just, balanced and humane global order, an order in which might can never be right,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The UAE\u2019s representative, Al Marar, used his own statement to single out Iran in his national statement and called for condemnation of Iranian actions, according to media reports.<\/p>\n<p>The exchange exposed the deepest fault line within the expanded bloc, which now includes both Iran and the UAE as full members despite the two standing on opposite sides of an active conflict.<\/p>\n<p>After all member states had spoken, Araghchi requested the floor again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe UAE was directly involved in the aggression against my country,\u201d he told the gathering, according to the Iranian state media. \u201cWhen the attacks started, they didn\u2019t even issue a condemnation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He accused the UAE of allowing the US to use Emirati territory to launch attacks on Iran and said Emirati aircraft had directly participated in strikes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYesterday it was revealed that UAE fighter jets participated in attacks against us and even took direct action against us. Therefore, the UAE is an active partner in this aggression,\u201d he said, according to Iran\u2019s IRNA news agency.<\/p>\n<p>Araghchi also criticised Abu Dhabi for not condemning an attack on a school in Minab city on the first day of the conflict, in which Iran says about 170 students were killed.<\/p>\n<p>Iran, he argued, had not attacked the UAE itself, but only US military bases located on Emirati territory.<\/p>\n<p>The UAE rejected that characterisation. Abu Dhabi says Iranian strikes targeted energy infrastructure and civilian facilities inside the country, and that it has intercepted more than 2,800 Iranian drones and missiles since <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/4\/28\/when-will-strait-of-hormuz-be-safe-for-commercial-shipping-again\">February 28<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Al Marar, for his part, reiterated the UAE\u2019s demand for condemnation of Iranian attacks on energy infrastructure and other facilities.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4574976\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4574976\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2026-05-14T064808Z_1146002403_RC2T8LAKVDFN_RTRMADP_3_INDIA-BRICS-1778841189.jpg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C513&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends the BRICS foreign ministers' meeting at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, India May 14, 2026. REUTERS\/Adnan Abidi\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4574976\">Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attends the BRICS foreign ministers\u2019 meeting at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, India, on May 14, 2026 [Adnan Abidi\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>India\u2019s Jaishankar, navigating the dispute as chair, called for \u201csafe and unimpeded maritime flows through international waterways, including the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea\u201d, adding that unilateral sanctions \u201ccannot substitute dialogue, nor can pressure replace diplomacy\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>He also reminded members that \u201cit is essential for the smooth advancement of BRICS that later members fully appreciate and subscribe to the BRICS\u2019 consensus on various important issues\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>On the sidelines, Jaishankar held a bilateral meeting with Araghchi and later <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/5\/14\/iran-urges-brics-nations-to-condemn-us-israeli-war-aggression\">posted on X<\/a> that they had a \u201cdetailed\u201d discussion on regional developments and bilateral ties.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"no-consensus-again\">No consensus again<\/h2>\n<p>This was not the first BRICS meeting in India to end without consensus over the Iran war.<\/p>\n<p>On April 24, India hosted a BRICS deputy foreign ministers\u2019 and special envoys\u2019 meeting on the Middle East, also in New Delhi. That gathering ended without a joint statement, with India issuing only a chair\u2019s summary.<\/p>\n<p>Iran had pushed for language recognising that the US and Israel initiated the conflict, while the UAE demanded wording condemning <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/5\/5\/trump-announces-pause-on-us-operation-to-unblock-strait-of-hormuz\">Iranian strikes<\/a> on Gulf states.<\/p>\n<p>Since February 28, BRICS has not issued a single joint statement on the war, under India\u2019s chairship.<\/p>\n<p>The outcome document issued at the close of the meetings this week reflected the impasse.<\/p>\n<p>On the conflict in the Middle East, it noted only that \u201cthere were differing views among some members\u201d and listed a set of general principles \u2013 the need for dialogue and diplomacy, respect for sovereignty, unimpeded maritime flows and the protection of civilian lives \u2013 without naming any party or assigning responsibility.<\/p>\n<p>Iran\u2019s demand that the bloc condemn US and Israeli aggression went unmet. The UAE\u2019s push for language condemning Iranian strikes went equally unmet.<\/p>\n<p>Addressing a media briefing at the Iranian embassy in New Delhi on Friday, Araghchi appeared to blame the UAE \u2014 a BRICS member state that has \u201cits own special relationship with Israel\u201d \u2014 for there being no consensus document at the end of the meeting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe only reason they stopped the final statement was their support for Israel and the United States in their aggression against Iran, which is very, very unfortunate,\u201d said Araghchi.<\/p>\n<p>The Iranian diplomat went on to say that the country in question cannot be protected by the US and Israel, and that US military installations that were meant to provide it security had become a source of insecurity. \u201cThat was proved during this war,\u201d said Araghchi.<\/p>\n<p>The document did condemn \u201cthe imposition of unilateral coercive measures that are contrary to international law\u201d, language widely understood as a reference to US sanctions on Iran, though Washington was not named.<\/p>\n<p>On other agenda items, the meeting was more productive. Member states reached agreement on more than 60 issues, including energy cooperation, trade, digital infrastructure, climate action and multilateral reform.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"why-it-matters\">Why it matters<\/h2>\n<p>For Jauhar Saleem, a former Pakistani diplomat, the outcome was unsurprising.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBRICS is an organisation with some very important countries, but it remains a disparate group with very different foreign interests, perspectives and agendas,\u201d he told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<p>On the Iran war specifically, he said consensus was never realistic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was no possibility of a joint approach to begin with, and negotiations on a joint statement quite expectedly turned out to be a damp squib,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Saleem argued that the episode reflected a broader shift in global diplomacy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBloc politics is going to become increasingly irrelevant in this era where even the most cohesive alliances are almost breaking apart,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>That dynamic, he added, plays to Pakistan\u2019s strengths.<\/p>\n<p>Islamabad has sought to position itself as a mediator between Washington and Tehran, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/4\/13\/how-the-us-iran-talks-in-islamabad-unfolded\">hosting talks<\/a> last month while <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/5\/12\/pakistan-scrambles-to-salvage-us-iran-diplomacy-as-ceasefire-faces-collapse\">maintaining channels<\/a> with both sides.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPakistan\u2019s balanced approach, focused on bilateralism, is more suited to these times where walking a diplomatic tightrope is a norm rather than a novelty,\u201d Saleem said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPakistan\u2019s remarkable diplomacy goes to the trust it has created by taking principled positions on international issues rather than being swayed by short-term interests.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Islamabad, Pakistan \u2013 A two-day meeting of BRICS foreign ministers in New Delhi ended on Friday without a common position on the war on Iran, with the bloc\u2019s outcome document acknowledging only that \u201cdiffering views\u201d remained among members. It was the second consecutive BRICS gathering in India to fail to produce a consensus on the &#8230; <a title=\"Why the Iran conflict is becoming a problem for BRICS\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/15\/why-the-iran-conflict-is-becoming-a-problem-for-brics\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Why the Iran conflict is becoming a problem for BRICS\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}