Iran Projects Strategic Weight at BRICS Summit in New Delhi
NEW DELHI — President Masoud Pezeshkian wrapped up his two-day visit to New Delhi on Sunday after using the BRICS summit to press Iran’s case for a multipolar world, stronger resistance to unilateral sanctions and greater cooperation among countries seeking to reduce dependence on Western-dominated systems.
The visit, coming in the wake of Iran’s confrontation with the United States and Israel, gave Tehran an important diplomatic platform at a summit where questions of sovereignty, unilateralism, economic coercion and the reform of global institutions featured prominently.
Pezeshkian used the occasion to stress that Iran’s resistance to pressure has strengthened, rather than weakened, its position among countries pushing for a different balance of power.
“We hope that America’s bullying actions in the region will be neutralized through the policies of the BRICS member states,” Pezeshkian said in his assessment of the summit, expressing hope that Washington would be prevented from achieving its “sinister” objectives in the region and the world.
For Tehran, the summit was about more than economic cooperation. Pezeshkian presented Iran’s positions on national sovereignty, territorial integrity, opposition to unilateral sanctions, rejection of military coercion and the need for a genuinely multipolar international order as part of a broader argument that the existing global system requires fundamental reform.
He said the common thread running through discussions among BRICS leaders was opposition to unilateralism and the need to increase countries’ resilience through mutual cooperation.
Participants, he said, expressed dissatisfaction with the use of power and coercion in international affairs and emphasized the need to work toward a multipolar world.
The BRICS declaration provided a broader diplomatic setting for several of these positions, including opposition to attacks on civilian infrastructure and nuclear facilities, support for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and opposition to unilateral coercive measures. Leaders also emphasized greater financial cooperation and the expansion of trade using national currencies.
Pezeshkian’s meetings on the sidelines of the summit added a significant regional dimension to the visit.
His meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was particularly important for Tehran. The two sides discussed expanding bilateral cooperation, economic relations and humanitarian contacts, with Pezeshkian describing the relationship as having moved beyond conventional diplomatic ties toward a deeper connection rooted in the long history between the two peoples.
The encounter with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan carried a different but equally important message. It was Pezeshkian’s first meeting with the Emirati leader since the latest war and tensions affecting the Persian Gulf.
According to Pezeshkian, the two sides agreed to put the past aside, look toward the future and explore how they could work together to build that future. The discussions were subsequently followed up at the foreign-minister level.
The significance of the meeting extended beyond bilateral relations. At a time when tensions in the Persian Gulf remain closely linked to wider regional security, Tehran’s willingness to reopen a channel with Abu Dhabi pointed to its broader emphasis on dialogue among regional states.
Pezeshkian also held talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, with the two leaders discussing the regional situation and Egypt’s concerns over the continuing crisis. The encounter added another layer to Iran’s diplomatic outreach toward major Arab states.
Other meetings included discussions with the leaders of South Africa and Ethiopia and the prime minister of Malaysia, while Pezeshkian also held exchanges with the presidents of Russia and China. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi conducted parallel diplomatic meetings with counterparts from participating countries.
The Iranian delegation also placed heavy emphasis on economic cooperation. Pezeshkian called for expanded use of national currencies in BRICS trade and greater independence from a financial system in which one country can impose restrictions on others.
He said mechanisms were being explored to facilitate regional-currency transactions among member states.
Iran also presented itself as a major connectivity hub linking north with south and east with west. Pezeshkian said Tehran is ready to revive this geopolitical potential and work with other countries to strengthen transportation and trade routes.
The president said the summit produced important opportunities for investment, financial exchanges and broader economic cooperation, while talks were also held on banking cooperation and the New Development Bank.
Yet the political message remained the defining feature of Iran’s participation.
Pezeshkian sharply criticized the ability of powerful states to disregard international law while using military force, sanctions and economic pressure against countries that refuse to follow their demands.
He condemned attacks on women, children, hospitals and civilian infrastructure and rejected the idea that technological or military superiority gives any country the right to disregard humanitarian principles.
Iran’s position, he said, was shared in substance by many countries attending the summit, even if some governments were reluctant to express their views as openly because of concerns over possible economic repercussions.
The New Delhi summit therefore gave Tehran an opportunity to put its post-war diplomacy before an expanded grouping whose combined economic and political weight is increasingly challenging the dominance of traditional Western institutions.
As Pezeshkian left New Delhi on Sunday, the significance of the visit lay as much in the diplomatic conversations opened around Iran as in the formal outcomes of the summit itself.
Tehran returned to the regional and global diplomatic stage with a message of resistance, cooperation and strategic independence — and with a wider circle of countries prepared to engage with it.