BRICS FMs meet in Delhi; Iran slams UAE for colluding with Israel, US

New Delhi: Tehran and Abu Dhabi clashed in New Delhi on Thursday over the allegation of support provided by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Israel and the United States for carrying out strikes on Iran.

A BRICS meeting in New Delhi saw Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi accusing Abu Dhabi of being an “active partner” in the recent attacks on his country, alleging that the UAE provided military bases, airspace and intelligence support to Israel and the United States during the conflict.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar chaired the meeting of the foreign ministers and the heads of the delegations of the member nations of the BRICS.

The conclave, however, was overshadowed by the conflict in West Asia. Just a day before the meeting in New Delhi, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office revealed that he had visited Abu Dhabi and met President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the UAE after launching, jointly with the US, the military strikes against Iran.

Though Abu Dhabi denied any such meeting, Tehran stated that the revelation had only corroborated what it had already known about the complicity of the UAE in the attacks against Iran.

“Netanyahu has now publicly revealed what Iran's security services long ago conveyed to our leadership. Enmity with the Great People of Iran is a foolish gamble. Collusion with Israel in doing so: unforgivable,” Araghchi posted on X just a few hours before participating in the BRICS meeting chaired by Jaishankar. “Those colluding with Israel to sow division will be held to account.”

With Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan not attending, his deputy, Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar, led the delegation from the UAE at the meeting.

Al Marar tacitly hit out at Tehran for carrying out attacks on the UAE in response to the military offensive launched by Israel and the US on Iran. He subtly underlined that Iran’s strikes on the UAE had violated international law.

“The UAE representative talks about international law. But which part of international law does allow support for an act of aggression without reason and without prior provocation?” Araqchi said in a quick riposte to Al Marar’s statement.

He alleged that the UAE fighter jets had participated in strikes against Iran. “The UAE is an active partner in this aggression, and we have no doubt about it,” he said, defending retaliatory strikes by Iran. He said that Iran had targeted only the US military bases and installations in the UAE, but not the UAE itself. He argued that the presence of the US troops and Israel’s support had failed to provide security to the UAE and other states in the region. He urged the UAE to “reconsider” its policies towards Iran.’

The BRIC comprised Brazil, Russia, India, and China until its first expansion in 2010-11, when it was renamed BRICS and included South Africa. It added Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Argentina, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as new members in 2023-24. Argentina later withdrew its application for BRICS membership after Javier Milei became president in December 2023.

Saudi Arabia delayed its process of joining the bloc, which is perceived as a counterweight to the G7. Indonesia joined the BRICS in January 2025.

The lack of consensus within the BRICS had also come to the fore when the deputy foreign ministers of the member nations of the bloc, as well as their special envoys for West Asia, had met in New Delhi last month.

The meeting had ended with India releasing a “chair’s statement” following the talks, reflecting that a consensus on a joint outcome document could not be reached.

The statement noted that the participants had “expressed deep concern over the recent conflict in the Middle East and shared views and assessments on the situation”. The statement avoided naming Iran or condemning the initial attacks by Israel and the US or the retaliatory strikes by Iran.

Iran has been nudging India, the current chair of the BRICS, since the early days of the conflict to get the bloc – seen as a grouping of developing nations and often criticised by President Donald Trump – to condemn the offensive launched by Israel and the US.