Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in New Delhi this Friday with a clear message: Iran needs new routes to survive economic and war pressure from the United States. Its top leader took advantage of the first day of the BRICS economic forum to describe the situation in his country as "critical and dangerous" and demand a diversification of its trading partners, its financing sources and its payment channels.
"Iran has been subject to strong sanctions in recent years; this pressure has reached a critical and dangerous stage in recent months following the military aggression of the US and Israel," Pezeshkian said. The Iranian president also spoke of a world immersed in a "period of unprecedented complexity", an expression that well summarizes the scenario in which the bloc of large emerging economies meets this weekend.
For Tehran, the key is diversification and Pezeshkian put several issues on the table, such as food and energy security. He also presented his country's location - between Central Asia, the Persian Gulf and the routes that connect East and West - as one of its main assets.
"Iran's geographical position allows us to play the role of a strategic partner in the BRICS energy, food and transportation supply chains," he said.
The nation formally entered the BRICS in 2024 and finds in the group a space to interact with countries that do not participate in Western sanctions that weigh on their economy. Pezeshkian raised precisely one of the questions that most interests Tehran: to what extent can the BRICS become an economic network capable of reducing dependence on the US-dominated financial system?
Precisely there also appears one of the contradictions of the forum. The BRICS have grown to eleven members, representing about half of the world's population and about 40% of the global economy measured in purchasing power parity. Their size allows them to present themselves as an alternative to an international order dominated for decades by the West. However, their interests do not always coincide. India maintains strategic relations with the US, China and Russia; Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have their own alliances with Washington; and while Moscow and Tehran share an evident interest in reducing the weight of sanctions, New Delhi has avoided turning the group into an overtly anti-American platform.
The link with India
Shortly after his speech, Pezeshkian met with Narendra Modi to continue the talks that began on August 31 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. At that meeting, Modi defended dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the conflict in the Middle East and called for protecting navigation and trade.
With needs similar to those of Pezeshkian, Vladimir Putin landed yesterday in New Delhi to strengthen relations with his partners outside the West. The Russian president and Modi met for the second time in just two weeks to talk about energy, defense and the conflicts in the Middle East and the Black Sea. The war in Ukraine has made Russia an uncomfortable partner for India in Washington and Europe, but also a source of energy that is difficult to replace. In July, Russian oil accounted for 51 percent of India's crude oil imports, a peak also driven by supply disruptions from the Middle East.
Their relationship has a much more practical dimension than the images of Modi and Putin hugging each other before sitting down to talk. India wants cheap and stable oil; Russia needs markets to sell it and partners to compensate for its Western isolation. Both countries also aspire to increase their bilateral trade to 100 billion dollars in 2030, compared to the almost 70 billion registered in the 2024-25 financial year.
