India to host BRICS summit as Iran-UAE rift tests bloc unity

India will host the BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi on Sep 12-13, as the US-led war on Iran has split the bloc’s membership. Tehran and Abu Dhabi, both BRICS members, are on opposing sides of the conflict, threatening the group’s ability to issue a joint declaration.

NEW DELHI: India will host the BRICS Leaders' Summit this weekend, seeking to lift the bloc's global profile even as the US-led war on Iran splits its membership, with Tehran and Abu Dhabi on opposing sides of the conflict.

The Sep 12-13 summit in New Delhi comes more than six months after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran, a BRICS member since 2024. The conflict has led to a virtual shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's key choke points in the oil trade, pushing crude prices to over US$100 a barrel. BRICS member UAE, after being hit by Iranian missiles since the war began, suspended all trade and financial transactions with Iran in August.

Foreign policy experts said the key test for the bloc will be finding language on the Middle East crisis that both Abu Dhabi and Tehran can accept, clearing the way for a joint declaration. Such a joint statement was unlikely to influence the current geopolitical landscape, but will demonstrate that a forum of emerging countries could be united against economically debilitating policies like Western sanctions, they said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend in his first visit to India in seven years. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iran's Masoud Pezeshkian, South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa, Egypt's Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Indonesia's Prabowo Subianto are also due, along with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The UAE is expected to be represented by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that the differences between the UAE and Iran had a "negative impact" and get in the way of drafting a joint declaration, but hoped the leaders will be able to find phrasing acceptable to both countries. In May, foreign ministers of BRICS nations failed to issue a joint statement after a meeting in New Delhi due to differences between Iran and the UAE.

However, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit earlier this month offered grounds for optimism because its members found language on the Iran conflict acceptable to countries with differing positions. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Xi, Putin and Pezeshkian, among others, signed a joint declaration condemning the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran and Western sanctions. Former Indian diplomat Rajiv Bhatia said the joint statement at the SCO summit, which however does not include the UAE, raised hopes for BRICS to bridge the divide. Experts also said that US President Donald Trump's protectionism and unilateral tariff policies have given reasons for BRICS countries to come together.

Beyond efforts to secure agreement on the Middle East, attention will also focus on potential bilateral meetings between Modi and Xi, and on scheduled talks between Modi and Putin. Peskov said on Tuesday that Putin would hold bilateral talks with Modi on Friday ahead of the summit, with trade and economic cooperation expected to feature prominently on the agenda.