Iran signed a joint statement with Russia, China and other countries on Saturday calling for an end to the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
The statement was issued during a BRICS meeting in New Delhi hosted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The bloc, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, Iran and other nations, was created in part as a counterweight to US-influenced global institutions.
“We express deep concern over the continued escalation of tensions in Middle East/West Asia … [and] call for exercising maximum restraint, as well as avoiding actions that could further aggravate the situation,” the statement said.
The appeal followed a recent increase in Iranian attacks targeting US bases and American allies across the Gulf region.
The United Arab Emirates, one of the 11 BRICS members that signed the statement, hosts a US air base and has faced Iranian drone and missile strikes. Saudi Arabia also signed after shutting its East-West pipeline on Friday when attacks by Iran-backed Iraqi militias set it ablaze.
The Saturday meeting took place as Washington intensified economic pressure on Tehran. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had vowed last month to impose an “economic D-Day” aimed at crippling the Islamic Republic’s trading partners.
The statement also urged the protection of civilians, respect for national sovereignty and the safeguarding of global supply chains. Those concerns come as the US and Iran clash over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital channel for international energy shipments.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who attended the meeting, responded to US pressure in remarks from New Delhi on Friday. “They want to bully us, and we do not want to be bullied,” he said.
The BRICS statement separately expressed “serious concerns” over the rise in global tariffs.
The meeting came one day after Russian President Vladimir Putin mocked the G7, a group of leading economic powers that expelled Russia after its 2014 annexation of Crimea. Putin has continued launching daily drone and missile attacks against Ukraine.
“Over the last five years, more than 40% of the world GDP have been produced by the BRICs countries. Whereas the contribution of the so-called G7, the great seven, I don’t know why they call it the Group of Seven, it stands at only 29%,” Putin said.
The G7 countries account for roughly one-tenth of the global population and produce about 44% of the world’s GDP, or 28% when measured by purchasing power parity.
The conference also marked Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first trip to India in seven years, after the two nations fought through border clashes in 2020.
The Chinese leader is expected to visit the US later this month for a meeting with President Trump at the White House.
