New Delhi, India – A two-day meeting of BRICS foreign ministers in the Indian capital ended Friday without a unified position on the Iran war. The final document merely noted that "there are different views" among members.
This marks the second consecutive BRICS conference hosted by India that failed to reach consensus on the conflict involving the United States and Israel.
The meeting, chaired by Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, was the first major ministerial gathering of India's 2026 BRICS presidency. It took place as the U.S.-Israel war with Iran entered its 77th day.
The current conflict erupted on February 28 with U.S. and Israeli airstrikes targeting Iranian military, nuclear, and infrastructure facilities. Since then, Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping, global energy prices have surged, and diplomatic efforts, including Pakistan-mediated talks in Islamabad last month, have stalled.
Iran-UAE Showdown
The deepest fissure within the bloc emerged when Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the UAE representative directly confronted each other.
Mr. Araghchi called on BRICS members to condemn "the violation of international law" by the United States and Israel and to take "concrete action to prevent war." In contrast, UAE representative Khalifa bin Shaheen Al Marar urged condemnation of Iran's actions.
Mr. Araghchi stated that "the UAE has directly participated in the aggression against my country," citing UAE fighter jet attacks on Iran and its permission for the United States to use UAE territory to conduct strikes. The UAE side denied the allegations and said Iran had attacked energy and civilian facilities on its soil.
Chairing the meeting, India's Minister Jaishankar called for "safe and unhindered maritime traffic through international waterways, including the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea," while emphasizing that unilateral sanctions cannot replace dialogue.
Second Deadlock
This is not the first time a BRICS meeting in India has ended without consensus on the Iran war. In April, a meeting of BRICS deputy foreign ministers and special envoys on the Middle East, also in New Delhi, concluded without a joint statement. Since February 28, BRICS has issued no joint statement on this conflict.
Speaking at a post-meeting press conference, Mr. Araghchi blamed the UAE—a BRICS member with "a special relationship with Israel"—for the lack of a final consensus document.
Meanwhile, other agenda items made progress. Member states agreed on over 60 issues, including energy cooperation, trade, digital infrastructure, and multilateral reform.
