India hosts BRICS summit as Iran war tests bloc unity

New Delhi: India will host the BRICS Leaders' Summit this weekend, seeking to lift the bloc's global profile ​even as the U.S.-led war on Iran splits its membership, with Tehran and Abu Dhabi on opposing sides of the conflict.

The September 12-13 summit in New Delhi comes more than six months after the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran, a BRICS member since 2024. The conflict has led to a virtual shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's key choke points in the oil trade, pushing crude prices to over $100 a barrel.

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BRICS member UAE, after ‌being hit by Iranian ⁠missiles since the war ⁠began, suspended all trade and financial transactions with Iran in August.

Foreign policy experts said the key test for the bloc will be finding language on the Middle East crisis that both Abu Dhabi and Tehran can accept, clearing the way for a ​joint declaration.

Such a joint statement was unlikely to influence the current geopolitical landscape, but will demonstrate, for instance, that a forum of emerging countries could be united against economically debilitating policies like Western sanctions, they said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping ​will attend in his first visit to India in seven years, underscoring the importance Beijing attaches to BRICS and placing China alongside host India at the centre of efforts to hold the expanded bloc together.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iran's Masoud Pezeshkian, South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa, Egypt's Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Indonesia's Prabowo Subianto are also due, along with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The UAE is expected to be represented by ​Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

IRAN WAR HAS NEGATIVE IMPACT ON BLOC

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov ⁠said on Tuesday ‌that the differences between the UAE and Iran had a "negative impact" and get in the way of "drafting" a joint declaration, but hoped the leaders will be able to ​find a phrasing that will ​be acceptable to both countries.

Originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and later South Africa, BRICS has expanded with the addition of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE ⁠and Indonesia, reflecting its ambition to represent a wider Global South.

Saudi Arabia's role in the grouping remains ambiguous as ​it has not accepted full membership but participates with lower-level delegations. Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud will attend the Delhi meeting.

"Some of (BRICS') ​new members, Iran and the UAE, Egypt and Ethiopia are embroiled in tensions and don't agree much. This is bad news for an entity that operates based on consensus," said Michael Kugelman, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.

"There is an irony here: BRICS expansion reflects its growing appeal and prominence. But that very expansion, because of the divergent views of the new members, could make the group less effective."

In May, foreign ministers of BRICS nations failed to issue a joint statement after a meeting in New Delhi due to differences between Iran and the UAE.

However, earlier this month, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit offered grounds for optimism because its members found language on the Iran conflict acceptable to countries with differing positions.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Xi, Putin and Pezeshkian, among others, signed a joint declaration condemning the U.S.-Israeli ‌military campaign against Iran and Western sanctions.

Former Indian diplomat Rajiv Bhatia said the joint statement at the SCO summit, which however does not include the UAE, has raised hopes for BRICS to be able to bridge the divide.

"There has been a significant forward movement in Bishkek at the SCO summit," Bhatia said. Despite SCO having ​members that are pro-U.S., "they were ​able to bring out a formulation which was acceptable to ⁠all sides."

Experts also said that U.S. President Donald Trump's protectionism and unilateral tariff policies have given reasons for BRICS countries to come together and could lead to two-way or three-way meetings between leaders of the countries.

Later this month, Xi is expected to travel to the U.S. It was not immediately clear if he would hold talks with Putin in Delhi on the sidelines of the summit, ​ahead of his meeting with Trump.

KEY BILATERALS

Beyond efforts to secure agreement on the Middle East, attention will also focus on potential bilateral meetings between Modi and Xi, and on scheduled talks between Modi and Putin.

A likely Modi-Xi meeting would be their third since ties began improving last year following an agreement to ease military tensions along their disputed Himalayan border.

Xi is expected to hold talks with Modi on the summit's sidelines, with the two leaders likely to review efforts to stabilise relations and deepen economic engagement.

Peskov said on Tuesday that Putin would hold bilateral talks with Modi on Friday ahead of the summit, with trade and economic cooperation expected to feature prominently on the agenda.

The meeting comes as Russia remains one of India's largest energy suppliers and New Delhi seeks to balance its longstanding strategic partnership with Moscow against pressure from Washington over Russian oil purchases.