Nearly a week into the United States-Israel war on Iran and the BRICS bloc, a multi-country alliance that includes Tehran, has not reacted in any form to the conflict.<\/p>\n
To analysts and political observers, that seems out of character. When the 12-day war between Israel and Iran broke out in June last year, the bloc, which Brazil then chaired, was quick to state that US-Israeli joint attacks on Iran were a \u201cviolation of international law\u201d.<\/p>\n list of 4 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n However, since the chairmanship of BRICS shifted to India in December 2025, New Delhi\u2019s own interests appear to be overriding the alliance\u2019s objectives, critics say, as India signals closer ties with Israel and the US.<\/p>\n The 11-member BRICS grouping was formed as an economic alliance in 2009 and is widely regarded as a \u201cGlobal South\u201d alternative to the exclusive Group of Seven (G7) alliance of industrialised economies.<\/p>\n US President Donald Trump once accused its members of being \u201canti-American\u201d, although BRICS has said it does not see itself as competing with or countering any other groups.<\/p>\n In recent years, the organisation\u2019s mandate has broadened to include security issues, with members conducting joint military drills \u2013 most recently hosted by South Africa in January this year, when India opted out.<\/p>\n BRICS is named after the first letters of its founding members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Since 2024, BRICS has expanded to include Indonesia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what we know about how India\u2019s interests may have come into conflict with those of other BRICS nations:<\/p>\n The organisation itself, under Indian leadership in 2026, has not commented directly about the US-Israeli Operation Epic Fury in Iran, which has seen multiple missile and drone attacks across the country, killing more than 1,230 people in its first six days.<\/p>\n However, individually, three of its five founding members have issued statements commiserating with Iranians mourning loved ones and denouncing violations of international law.<\/p>\n South Africa\u2019s President Cyril Ramaphosa, whose administration is embroiled in a dispute of its own with the US over the Trump-alleged, but debunked, \u201cgenocide\u201d of white South Africans, voiced concerns about the conflict on Wednesday and warned that the fighting could go beyond the Middle East.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want a ceasefire, we want this madness to come to an end,\u201d Ramaphosa told reporters, three days after his African National Congress party first issued a statement \u201ccondemning\u201d the US and Israel\u2019s \u201canticipatory self-defence based on assumption or conjecture\u201d.<\/p>\n South Africa, Ramaphosa added on Wednesday, is also ready to play a mediator role to help resolve the issue and end the loss of lives. The country came in for heavy US criticism earlier in January when Iran was allowed to participate in the BRICS naval drills hosted by South Africa, amid reports of massacres of Iranian protesters.<\/p>\n Russia\u2019s President Vladimir Putin similarly criticised the joint US-Israel attacks and the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in strikes on Saturday, in a letter to President Masoud Pezeshkian. Moscow and Tehran have close ties, with Russia providing weapons and weaponry to Iran. However, Moscow has not indicated any willingness to intervene militarily to support Iran.<\/p>\n Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Russia\u2019s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said there was no evidence that Tehran is developing nuclear weapons \u2013 a key issue for the US and Israel \u2013 and that the war could lead to the very outcome the two allies claimed they wanted to prevent: Nuclear proliferation across the region.<\/p>\n As the bombs dropped on Iran last Saturday, Russia\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the US and Israel of \u201cpremeditated and unprovoked acts of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent UN member state\u201d.<\/p>\n Moscow itself stands accused of aggression against a sovereign nation, amid its fifth year of war on Ukraine.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, China\u2019s Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Gideon Saar, his Israeli counterpart, over the phone on Tuesday that Iran had been attacked as negotiations between Washington and Tehran \u201cmade significant progress, including addressing Israel\u2019s security concerns\u201d, China\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.<\/p>\n Wang added that China \u201copposes any military strikes launched by Israel and the US against Iran\u201d, according to the Foreign Ministry.<\/p>\n Of the founding members, only India has not outrightly condemned the US-Israel attacks on Iran. Under its chairmanship of BRICS, the organisation has also been unusually silent on the war.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, three days after the first attacks hit Tehran, killing Khamenei and several of Iran\u2019s senior military officials, New Delhi made cautious calls for an \u201cearly end to the conflict\u201d in a statement by the country\u2019s Ministry of External Affairs.<\/p>\n \u201cIndia strongly reiterates its call for dialogue and diplomacy. We share our voice clearly in favour of an early end to the conflict,\u201d the ministry said, adding that the war risked regional stability and the safety of thousands of Indian nationals living and working in the Gulf region.<\/p>\n Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke to Gulf countries and criticised retaliatory attacks on their territories, without mentioning Iran.<\/p>\n Critics, especially from the Indian opposition Congress party, have called out Modi\u2019s lack of outright denunciation of the Israeli-US attacks and the killing of Khamenei, especially in light of Modi\u2019s visit to Israel, during which he addressed the Knesset in Jerusalem, just days before the war began.<\/p>\n The timing of the visit gave the appearance of \u201ctacit approval\u201d of the attacks on Iran, the party said on Monday.<\/p>\n Modi undertook a state visit to Israel on February 25 and 26, 2026. He met with Israel\u2019s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on suspicion of war crimes related to Israel\u2019s onslaught on Gaza.<\/p>\n Addressing the Knesset, Modi affirmed that \u201cIndia stands with Israel, firmly, with full conviction, in this moment and beyond,\u201d even as Israel has come under fire globally for the genocidal campaign in Gaza and deadly attacks by Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n Modi and Netanyahu went on to sign several trade agreements on defence and artificial intelligence, areas in which they have long collaborated. Israel also sends about 40 percent of its arms exports to India.<\/p>\n In a post on X, Modi wrote that the two countries had elevated \u201cour time-tested partnership to a Special Strategic Partnership\u201d during his visit.<\/p>\n About the same time, the threat of Israel-US attacks on Iran was looming. Modi may even have known about the attacks, one former Indian diplomat told Indo-Pacific-focused The Diplomat magazine.<\/p>\n The Modi government has not responded to this allegation.<\/p>\n Reuven Azar, Israeli ambassador to India, told local publication The Indian Express on Wednesday that the opportunity to launch the joint attacks on Iran came \u201conly after Prime Minister Modi left\u201d.<\/p>\n India has long championed a stance of strategic autonomy, allowing it to trade with Western countries while also deepening ties with countries viewed in the West as pariah states, such as Russia. That is part of the reason it was a founding BRICS member.<\/p>\n A tense standoff arose with the administration of US President Donald Trump over India\u2019s continued purchase of sanctioned Russian oil last year. Trump imposed sweeping import levies of up to 50 percent on India in August 2025, partly as punishment for this. India, whose largest trading partner is the US, described the additional tariffs as \u201cunfair, unjustified, and unreasonable\u201d.<\/p>\n The tariffs threatened to destabilise about 70 percent of India\u2019s exports to the US, the country\u2019s research council warned afterwards, urging quick trade reforms. India majorly exports electronics, pharmaceuticals, and jewellery to the US.<\/p>\n By February, the picture had changed. Following talks, Trump announced an agreement with India that slashed tariffs to 18 percent as he claimed that Delhi had agreed to stop buying Russian oil and to instead buy more US oil and other products.<\/p>\n \u201cBig thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement,\u201d PM Modi wrote on the X social platform in response.<\/p>\n When President Trump first took office, he threatened BRICS countries with an additional 10 percent tariff as part of his trade war.<\/p>\n Then, in July, he took aim at the group again before its annual summit, saying: \u201cWhen I heard about this group from BRICS, six countries, basically, I hit them very, very hard. And if they ever really form in a meaningful way, it will end very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n While India has continued to participate in routine BRICS meetings in recent months, it has notably stayed away from security issues.<\/p>\n In January, when BRICS countries met in South Africa to hold military drills, New Delhi was absent, although it was already the group chair at the time. India gave no reasons why. Brazil, which faced US tariff problems of its own, also chose not to participate, but was present as an observer.<\/p>\n Opting out for India was \u201cabout balancing ties with the US\u201d, Harsh Pant, a geopolitical analyst at the New Delhi-based think tank Observer Research Foundation, told Al Jazeera at the time.<\/p>\n Fellow BRICS member China has similarly faced a gruelling trade war with the US, but has spoken up in support of Iran.<\/p>\n Some critics fault Beijing for not directly intervening in the war to support its ally. However, Dong Wang, a professor of international studies at Peking University, said those expectations misunderstand China\u2019s position.<\/p>\n \u201cChina advocates mediation, not military involvement,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Comparing Beijing\u2019s response to Delhi\u2019s, the professor said India was choosing a \u201ccautious, balanced posture emphasising de-escalation\u201d.<\/p>\n But the differing responses from BRICS nations, he added, reflect a need for its members to come to a consensus even as they hold diverse ties and strategic priorities.<\/p>\n Such a consensus will be needed if the group continues to stand, and its existence is something Beijing takes seriously, Wang said.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom China\u2019s perspective, BRICS unity matters, and differences are normal within a diverse multilateral framework,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cBeijing continues to encourage BRICS to uphold its founding purpose: Supporting multilateralism, peaceful settlement, and the collective voice of the Global South.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Nearly a week into the United States-Israel war on Iran and the BRICS bloc, a multi-country alliance that includes Tehran, has not reacted in any form to the conflict. To analysts and political observers, that seems out of character. When the 12-day war between Israel and Iran broke out in June last year, the bloc, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14095\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n
![\"Chinese](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2024-10-23T085408Z_1666511738_RC28QAAT1E55_RTRMADP_3_RUSSIA-BRICS-SUMMIT-1755798645.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C553&quality=80\")
How have BRICS countries responded to the US-Israel war on Iran?<\/h2>\n
What has India said?<\/h2>\n
![\"India's](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/reuters_69a0267c-1772103292.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C514&quality=80\")
Is India moving closer to Israel?<\/h2>\n
Has the US pressured India?<\/h2>\n
Will India\u2019s relations with Israel and the US affect the BRICS alliance?<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"