Background

The creation of BRICS as a collective global voice dates back to the early 2000s, when Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill coined the term “BRIC” to call attention to the growing economic strength of the four countries of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. While the countries varied in political systems and geography, they had similar grievances: a post-Cold War world dominated by Western powers, in particular the IMF and World Bank. The grouping was conceived as an investment initiative but has picked up political momentum as a result of informal talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assemblies by the leaders. They did not have their first formal meeting until 2009, when they convened in Yekaterinburg, Russia, from economic curiosity to a coordinated platform. The common motivation was a need to shift the focus of global governance, away from the dollar and toward the concerns of developing countries, paving the way for BRICS to become a rival to the ‘west-led’ organizations such as the G7.[1]

Since then, BRICS has become a strong voice for the Global South, notably through advocacy for change in the multilateral institutions and the establishment of new financing tools. With South Africa’s admission in 2010, the school was given an important African perspective and strengthened its role as a link between emerging and low-income economies. The New Development Bank (2014) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement offered practical means to go around the Western-dominated lending regime, that gave an institution like the IMF a large “lever” for lender of last resort over crisis-stricken countries.[2] The BRICS summits always come out with declarations calling for a fairer international order, decrying unilateral sanctions, and advocating for the move to de-dollarization. The bloc of countries known as BRICS has been expanded in 2024 to include Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates, which now accounts for almost half of the world’s population and is also a rising part of global GDP. The expansion of its membership has contributed to its growing influence as it becomes a powerful force to contest Western hegemony and promote a multipolar world, while the confrontation between some of its member states, such as China and India, indicates a lack of unity within the organization.

BRICS and Iran

Iran officially became a full member of BRICS on 1st January 2024.[3] Tehran’s membership was strategic; offering the Iranian capital a powerful platform in which it can advance a more balanced world order, push back against what Tehran views as Western unilateralism and sanctions, and consolidate its position as a bridge between the bloc and the world’s key energy markets. But, Iran’s presence in the group has been marked with crisis. On February 28, 2026, the U.S. and Israel struck Iran with a military offensive, making it a hotbed of regional turmoil almost immediately after joining the club. It was a major challenge for the bloc from the start of this conflict. As the war upset the global oil market, blocked the Strait of Hormuz and caused economic pressure on the other partners, Iran urgently urged its BRICS partners to denounce the actions of the U.S. and Israe. But, these appeals have revealed deep divisions within the ranks, especially when it comes to the UAE, from where some of the attacks launched. The inability of the bloc to take a coordinated stance to Iran’s security crisis underscores the deep geopolitical cleavages that it will have to deal with in the near future, however, Iran’s determination to continue to use the forum for economic justice and a more just world is clear[4].

Failure of BRICS

The first big example of the failure of the group to come together in a single voice was in the May 2026 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi. India was the chair of the year and brought representatives of conflicting interests from India to the fray of the conflict. The UAE strongly objected to the reference to “explicit condemn violations of international law” by the United States and Israel by Iran, a victim of the initial strikes, who urged its fellow members to follow suit. There was no joint statement that was agreed by the bloc which reflected deep unbridgeable divisions. The assembly of the nations that eventually assembled did not even reach an agreement on who was responsible for the war and Iran in particular accused the UAE of being directly involved in the military actions against it[5].

The paralysis exposed the root of the enlarged BRICS. The bloc was an economic forum for trade and financial reform, and never did have the mechanisms to make it a cohesive military or security alliance. But its growth into a regionally competitive force such as Iran and the UAE has intensified, not reduced, the internal tensions. Since its beginning, the grouping has not been able to develop a consensus on the conflict. The clearest position it was able to take was a nebulous and weak plea for dialogue and diplomacy, effectively sidestepping the responsibility question. This has eroded the bloc’s reputation as a possible alternative to westernly run global governance and given it a big dent in credibility as a single political body.[6]

How BRICS group was fully effected with US Iran war?

The ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran has severely divided the BRICS alliance on the inside and revealed that it was incapable of acting as a political or security alliance. Inside the group, the war has exacerbated existing tensions, notably between Iran and the UAE, whose territory was used for strikes on Tehran, and has left them unable to take decisions by consensus or issue a collective condemnation or reaction. The war also had serious economic consequences, affecting the fundamental energy supplies and shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz, with a direct impact on the main importers of the BRICS countries, such as India and China, and putting pressure on the New Development Bank’s capacity to finance projects in the volatile energy markets. The bloc’s inability to counterbalance Western military action is a huge blow to its assertion of a multipolar world order, drawing some members away from the bloc to turn to traditional bilateral security constructs. In the end, the war has turned BRICS into a fractured bloc: economic cooperation is only a way to overcome significant geopolitical differences when the country attacked is part of it.

How should BRICS respond as a global prominent voice?

BRICS’ response to the US-Iran war should be swift and firm, by holding an emergency summit to send a clear and legally binding message against unilaterally taking any military measures which breach the UN Charter and sovereignty of any state. The bloc should move its economies in unison, but instead remain paralyzed by its internal tensions, it should put its collective economic weaponry into action, including the New Development Bank to finance the reconstruction of the war ravaged countries and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement to stabilize the currencies of its affected members while formally proposing a ceasefire framework under its own mediation, outside of the platforms operated by Western countries. Most importantly, BRICS should state a principle that if one of the member countries is attacked in any way, the bloc will respond politically and economically in unison, and may even prohibit its militaries from flying over the country or entering its ports. BRICS can fulfil its claim to be a force for a more just multipolar world only if it evolves from a passive forum into an active guarantor of mutual security, with clear and binding rules and mechanisms of collective response.

[1]What Is the BRICS Group and Why Is It Expanding? | Council on Foreign Relations. 26 June 2025, https://www.cfr.org/backgrounders/what-brics-group-and-why-it-expanding.

[2] “A Major Political Move: The BRICS Launch the New Development Bank and a Reserve Arrangement.” Bretton Woods Project, 18 July 2014, https://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/2014/07/a-major-political-move-the-brics-launch-the-new-development-bank-and-a-reserve-arrangement/.

[3] “Iran Joins BRICS Group Formally in 2024.” Tehran Times, 1 Jan. 2024, https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/493180/Iran-joins-BRICS-group-formally-in-2024.

[4] “Iran Urges BRICS to Defend Nations against Monopoly, Sanctions, Coercion at New Delhi Meeting.” Image. PressTV, 13 May 2026, https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2026/05/13/768550/iran-brics-india-new-delhi.

[5] “Iran War and Oil Dominate BRICS Meet in India.” The Express Tribune, 14 May 2026, https://tribune.com.pk/story/2608052/iran-war-and-oil-dominate-brics-meet-in-india.

[6] “BRICS Talks End without Joint Statement as Divisions over Iran War Deepen.” Al Jazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/15/brics-talks-end-without-joint-statement-as-divisions-over-iran-war-deepen. Accessed 17 May 2026.