Iran and the United Arab Emirates signed a joint BRICS statement calling for restraint in the Middle East war, a rare sign of diplomatic movement between the two countries. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince on the sidelines of the New Delhi summit, the highest-level contact between the countries since the conflict began.
Iran and the UAE backed a joint statement from the BRICS group of nations that called for restraint in the Middle East war on Saturday. Diplomats read the move as a sign of progress between two countries split by the six-month-old conflict.
On the sidelines of the New Delhi summit's first day, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. It marked the countries' highest-level meeting since the war began. The Abu Dhabi media office said on X that the two leaders discussed regional and international issues, de-escalation, stability, and efforts to advance regional peace, without pointing to any resolution.
A bloc built to challenge Western-led order
The summit tests the diplomatic weight of BRICS, a bloc founded in 2009 to challenge a world order dominated by the United States and its allies. It originally grouped Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and has since expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the UAE.
Organizers and diplomats focused on bridging the Iran-UAE divide even as the United States and Iran resume tit-for-tat strikes in the conflict. Iran has launched repeated attacks on the UAE during the war, most recently in late August when it targeted the Al Minhad Air Base that housed U.S. forces and helicopters.
Declaration urges restraint, protection of trade routes
The joint BRICS declaration called for "exercising maximum restraint, as well as avoiding actions that could further aggravate the situation." It also urged protection of civilians, respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, and safeguards for global trade, supply chains, energy flows and maritime security.
Foreign policy experts said the key test for the bloc was finding language on the Middle East crisis that both Abu Dhabi and Tehran could accept. Such a statement was unlikely to shift the current geopolitical landscape, they said, but would demonstrate unity among a grouping of emerging nations.
The Iranian embassy in India posted a photo of the meeting between Pezeshkian and the Crown Prince, who is the eldest son of the UAE's president and next in line to succeed him, but did not describe what the two discussed.
Modi says BRICS bloc has come of age
Host Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the summit the bloc had come of age and it was time to translate its unity into concrete results. Leaders attending include Russia's Vladimir Putin, China's Xi Jinping and South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa.
China's Xi said BRICS countries should stand on the right side of history and steer the international order toward greater equity and justice, and that China was ready to play its due role in Middle East peace and stability. New Delhi, which holds strong ties with the United States, Russia, Israel, Iran and the Gulf Arab states, is pushing BRICS members to boost trade cooperation as it balances those relationships.
Source: Investing.com
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