Iran, Russia FMs to attend BRICS meet in Delhi as West Asia war exposes divisions within bloc

Iranian foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov will attend the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting in New Delhi on 14-15 May as India prepares to host a diplomatically sensitive gathering overshadowed by divisions within the bloc over the ongoing West Asia conflict.

However, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will skip the meeting because of high-level talks in Beijing involving visiting US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. China is expected to be represented by Ambassador Xu Feihong.

The meeting, hosted by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, comes at a time when the expanded 11-member BRICS bloc has struggled to arrive at a common position on the war in West Asia.

The grouping now includes Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — countries directly affected by the conflict and holding sharply differing strategic positions.

No consensus on West Asia conflict

India, which currently chairs BRICS, was unable to secure consensus language on the conflict during previous consultations.

Instead of a joint statement, New Delhi had issued a Chair’s Summary on 24 April noting that member states had expressed “deep concern” over the conflict and offered differing assessments of the situation.

In March, Tehran had reportedly urged India to issue a BRICS statement condemning US and Israeli strikes on Iran, placing New Delhi in a difficult diplomatic position as it has so far avoided publicly siding with any party in the conflict.

Sources said Araghchi and Lavrov, along with other visiting BRICS representatives, are also expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi before he departs on a multi-nation foreign visit covering the UAE and several European countries.

Strait of Hormuz, evacuation likely on agenda

This will be Araghchi’s first visit to India since the outbreak of the war on 28 February following US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

Discussions between India and Iran are expected to focus heavily on the security situation in West Asia, including disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz.

While 11 Indian ships have reportedly managed to transit the strait and reach India, around 13 vessels remain stranded in the region.

India has also been coordinating with Iranian authorities regarding evacuation of Indian nationals. According to official sources, the Indian Embassy in Tehran has facilitated the movement of more than 2,500 Indian citizens out of Iran through land-border evacuation routes.

India faces diplomatic tightrope

The BRICS grouping now includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Indonesia.

With Iran on one side of the conflict and Gulf states hosting US military assets on the other, India’s role as chair has become increasingly delicate.

Apart from the West Asia crisis, the foreign ministers are expected to discuss multilateralism, reform of global institutions and the future of a multipolar international order amid growing geopolitical tensions linked to Trump’s return to the White House.

India is scheduled to host the BRICS leaders’ summit later this year as part of its 2026 rotational presidency of the bloc.