Iran War Tests BRICS — And Reveals its Limits |
Flashpoints | Security | South Asia
Iran War Tests BRICS — And Reveals its Limits
Despite calls for mediation, the grouping has remained fragmented, highlighting its role as a “club” like the G-7 rather than a forum for collective action.
From left: President of Brazil Lula da Silva, President of China Xi Jinping, President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Lavrov join hands at a BRICS summit.
More than two months after the U.S. and Israel launched military attacks on Iran, the conflict is poised on the edge of a fragile ceasefire. The cost in human suffering for Iran and Lebanon has been high. Israel has also suffered civilian casualties from Iranian missile attacks. However, the economic pain caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the destruction of energy infrastructure on both sides of the Persian Gulf is being felt around the world.
Fuel prices in the Philippines have more than doubled since the start of the conflict, affecting households across the country. A rise in LPG cylinder prices on the black market has forced migrant workers in India to leave cities. The odds of a U.S. recession in the next 12 months have risen to nearly 50 percent. Food prices in Gulf countries, which import 70-80 percent of their food, have surged. Global food availability is also at risk, as fertilizer supplies that transit through the Strait of Hormuz remain disrupted.
Amid all this, one influential grouping of countries – called upon by Iranian leaders including President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to help end the conflict – has been notably silent: the BRICS grouping, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. India is the current chair. Iran joined BRICS in 2024. The UAE and Saudi Arabia, which have faced Iranian attacks for hosting U.S. bases involved in the war, are also members of the expanded BRICS grouping.
Both Pezeshkian and Araghchi called on India to play a role as BRICS chair. However, it was Pakistan that eventually took on a mediating role.
Under the fog of war BRICS has been seen as hesitant, fragmented, and even irrelevant. Similar concerns emerged during the 12-day Israel-Iran war in 2025.
To the extent that BRICS has remained silent on the war, its major members have been able to secure selective benefits, even when belligerents were not satisfied. India, for instance, managed to secure safe passage for some of its ships via the Strait of Hormuz via direct talks with Iran. In a rare demonstration of their veto powers at the United Nations Security Council, China and Russia jointly undermined a Bahraini resolution supported by the Gulf........