Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi urged the BRICS countries to condemn the US-Israeli attack on his country.

The BRICS are a group of emerging ‘global south’ economies. In their own words:

The BRICS is a group formed by eleven countries: Brasil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Iran. It serves as a political and diplomatic coordination forum for countries from the Global South and for coordination in the most diverse areas.

Aragchi was speaking at a conference for the bloc in Delhi. Aragchi also called out the UAE for its own attack on Iran.

A tense meeting

The 14 May meeting was marked by considerable tension. Al Jazeera said this was the first time Iran and US-Israeli ally UAE had shared a room since the war began.

Aragchi told attendees Iran was a:

victim of illegal expansionism and warmongering.

He said:

Iran therefore calls upon BRICS member states and all responsible members of the international community to explicitly condemn violations of international law by the United States and Israel.

He also took a direct swipe at UAE, telling the conference that the Gulf state was:

directly involved in the aggression against my country.

The Guardian reported on UAE’s secret attacks on Iran on 12 May:

The UAE assault on Iran, which was undertaken as retaliation for Iranian attacks on its facilities, included a strike on Iran’s Lazan Island just before the 7 April ceasefire was announced.

US-Israel attacked Iran first on 28 February without provocation. Iran was offeringunprecedented concessions in negotiations at the time. The Pentagon has sincestated there was no imminent threat from Iran. And the UN’s atomic watchdog, the IAEA, has said there isno evidence Iran was developing a nuclear weapon.

The US has achieved none of its original war aims. Iran predictably closed the Straits of Hormuz, a vital oil channel, once attacked – creating a global energy crisis. Far from being defeated, Iran has said the war will continue until:

the enemy’s inevitable and permanent humiliation, disgrace, regret, and surrender.

Trump came to power on an anti-war ‘America First’ ticket. He now faces worldwide humiliation.

BRICS divided between empire and Iran

Al Jazeera reported that an Indian minister condemned a recent attack on shipping:

India’s Ministry of External Affairs also condemned an attack on an Indian-flagged ship off Oman on Wednesday as “unacceptable” – with all sailors rescued safely by Muscat.

The minister said:

We deplore the fact that commercial shipping and civilian mariners continue to be targeted.

The minister did not name the country or forces which attacked the ship.

In a separate media interview another Iranian foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, appeared to criticise India. India is a close ally of Israel and the US and sources around half of its oil through the straits of Hormuz.

We want India’s BRICS chairship to be successful. It is not a good approach to send a signal to the world that the BRICS is divided.

The official theme of the meting was sustainability, cooperation and innovation. In reality, it was always likely to centre on the war – especially given several of the participants have close ties to the either Iran or the Trump-Netanyahu axis of empire. And none of the participants can ignore the reality that the failed US-Israel attack has re-ordered global energy politics.

Featured image via Al Jazeera

By Joe Glenton

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