Iran is moving to join the BRICS New Development Bank as its economy buckles under nearly six months of war with the U.S. and Israel. Tehran's central bank chief announced the step while in India ahead of next month's BRICS Summit, but the bank itself says it cannot confirm Iran's membership.
Iran's central bank governor, Abdolnasser Hemmati, said Thursday that Iran would soon become a member of the BRICS Bank, according to Iranian state media. Hemmati made the announcement while in India ahead of next month's BRICS Summit, Iran's Tasnim News Agency reported.
Tehran seeks wider monetary ties
According to Tasnim's report, Hemmati said: "We are seeking to establish bilateral and trilateral monetary cooperation with member states." The BRICS alliance was set up in 2006 by founding members Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining in 2010, and has since expanded to include Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Indonesia.
However, a spokesperson for the New Development Bank (NDB) told CNBC the bank cannot confirm information regarding Iran's membership, noting that NDB membership is open to any United Nations member country, whether borrowing or non-borrowing. The spokesperson added that the NDB recently welcomed Uzbekistan as its tenth member country, which officially joined on June 5, 2026. Current prospective members of the bank are Uruguay, Colombia, Ethiopia, Angola and Zimbabwe.
An economy under pressure
Iran would still have to move through the NDB's accession process before becoming an official member. Joining would make Iran eligible to seek financing for projects in transport, sanitation, digital infrastructure and urban development.
Longstanding sanctions have severely constrained Iran's access to international capital, particularly from Western institutions and markets. The war with the U.S. and Israel has further ramped up the pressure on the Iranian economy, with inflation surging, growth plummeting and its currency in freefall.
President Donald Trump, who has previously labeled BRICS policies anti-American, has threatened to slap 25% tariffs on goods imported to the U.S. from any country that directly or indirectly purchases goods or services from Iran. China remains Iran's biggest trading partner, according to the World Bank's most recent data, and bought more than 80% of Iran's shipped oil in 2025, according to Kpler data. It is unclear whether that trading relationship has shifted since the U.S.-Iran war began.
Source: CNBC
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