The Foreign Ministers from BRICS nations concluded a tense two-day meeting in New Delhi without issuing a joint statement due to divisions over the war in Iran.
Against the backdrop of the meeting, a clash erupted between the UAE and Iran as both sides traded accusations over the ongoing conflict and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
BRICS Meeting
The BRICS group – including Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, the UAE and Indonesia – held a foreign ministers meeting in New Delhi, India, on May 14-15, 2026.
The summit took place as rising geopolitical tensions engulf the Middle East amid the US-Israeli war with Iran which has disrupted global energy supplies and sent oil prices soaring. It also coincided with US President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing, where he met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
No Joint Statement
The BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting ended with no joint statement due to “differing views among some members” regarding the situation in the Middle East, India, the host, said.
In a Chair’s statement and outcome document, India said that members expressed “their respective national positions and shared a range of perspectives on various issues, including the need for an early resolution of the crisis, the value of dialogue and diplomacy, and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.
They also highlighted the impact of the ongoing conflict on the global economy, the importance of ensuring safe commercial shipping through international waterways and the protection of civilian infrastructure and civilian lives.
Furthermore, India’s statement noted that BRICS members “recalled that the Gaza Strip is an inseparable part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, emphasizing the importance of unifying the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under the Palestinian Authority.
According to the statement, a member had reservation on some parts of this section, as well as a section about the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandab Strait.
Iranian Accusations
Speaking at the summit, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged BRICS ministers to condemn the US-Israeli war on Iran, calling it an “unlawful aggression.”
“It is necessary for all of us to intensify our efforts to end this sense of superiority and impunity on the part of the United States — a notion that has no place in today’s world,” he said.
He later told a news conference that a member country had blocked some parts of India’s statement, without directly naming the UAE.
Since the outbreak of the war in late February 2026, Iran has targeted the UAE with missile and drone strikes several times.
“We have no difficulty with that certain country, they have not been our target in the current war. We only hit American military bases and American military installations which are unfortunately on their soil,” Araghchi said.
“I hope by the time that we come for the summit, they come to a good understanding that Iran is a neighbor, we have to live with each other, we have lived for centuries and we have to live for centuries to come,” he added, referring to the upcoming BRICS summit later this year.
The UAE Pushes Back
In response to Araghchi’s remarks, the UAE Minister of State, Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar, stressed his country’s categorical rejection of Iran’s allegations and attempts to justify attacks against the UAE and other countries in the region.
Al Marar also reiterated that the UAE reserves “its full sovereign, legal, diplomatic and military rights to respond to any threat or hostile act,” the UAE Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Moreover, the Emirati Minister pointed to Iran’s disruption of international maritime routes, including the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as a blatant violation of international law.
He said that these acts represent “an act of piracy and constitutes a direct threat to the stability of the region, its peoples, and global energy security.”
Tehran’s Backlash
Following the Emirati rebuttal, Araghchi abandoned his diplomatic caution and accused the UAE of direct involvement in attacks against Iran, Reuters reported citing Iranian state media.
“I didn’t name the UAE in my (BRICS) statement for the sake of unity. But the truth is that the UAE was directly involved in the aggression against my country. When the attacks started, they didn’t even issue a condemnation,” he said, in response to comments by the Emirati representative.
The Iranian Foreign Minister said that the UAE has provided bases, airspace, territory, intelligence and other facilities to the US and Israel during their military operations against Iran.
He called on Abu Dhabi to reconsider its policy towards Iran, noting that neither US bases nor an alliance with Israel has provided protection for the UAE.
