BRICS Divisions Exposed at India Meeting Over Iran War
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- BRICS foreign ministers began a two-day meeting in New Delhi on May 14, 2026, attended by Iran's Abbas Araqchi, Russia's Sergey Lavrov, and diplomats from the bloc's expanded membership, with India FM Subrahmanyam Jaishankar chairing.
- China sent Ambassador Xu Feihong rather than FM Wang Yi, who remained in Beijing to receive U.S. President Donald Trump during his meeting with Xi Jinping.
- Jaishankar opened talks calling for BRICS to play a "constructive and stabilising role" amid "considerable flux in international relations" and pressing for cooperation on energy, food, and fertilizer prices.
- Iran's Deputy FM Kazem Gharibabadi said on May 13 that "one member country" pushed for language condemning Iran, preventing the bloc from reaching a unified position on the war.
- The bloc's 2024 expansion added Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE, with Indonesia joining in 2025 — yet Iran and the UAE now sit in the same group while pursuing competing regional interests.
- The meeting coincides with the Iran war disrupting global energy supplies and pushing up oil prices, with Jaishankar noting developing countries are hit hardest by rising energy and food costs.
Why it matters: The bloc's 2024–2025 expansion doubled its membership but failed to deliver a unified position on a war involving a fellow member (Iran), with Gharibabadi explicitly blaming one unnamed country for pushing anti-Iran language. India, which holds the BRICS chair, is now caught between hosting the meeting and managing competing interests between Iran and the UAE — its two newest Middle Eastern members.
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