New Delhi: The BRICS members, including India, Wednesday called the military strikes on the territory of Iran a “violation of international law” and the Charter of the United Nations, expressing “grave concern” on the situation in the Middle East.
“We express grave concern over the military strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran since 13 June 2025, which constitute a violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, and the subsequent escalation of the security situation in the Middle East,” the joint statement published by the Brazilian presidency of BRICS said.
The statement added: “We express serious concern over any attacks against peaceful nuclear installations that are carried out in violation of international law and relevant resolutions of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Nuclear safeguards, safety, and security must always be upheld, including in armed conflicts, to protect people and the environment from harm. In this context, we reiterate our support for diplomatic initiatives aimed at addressing regional challenges.”
India was part of the deliberations for the statement, which marks the most serious criticism from New Delhi over the strikes aimed at Iran’s nuclear programme launched by Israel and the US this month.
New Delhi maintained the call for dialogue and diplomacy to bring an end to the “multiple conflicts” in West Asia in its statement on the situation Tuesday. The 24 June statement was the first official acknowledgement of India on the US’ military action Sunday against the three Iranian nuclear facilities—Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan.
The US used its “bunker buster” ordinance to penetrate Fordow, which is located roughly 300 feet below the ground, and was considered Iran’s most fortified uranium enrichment facility.
Hours after US’ strikes, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian held a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Indian statement after the call had made no mention of the US strikes, but said that Modi was briefed by Pezeshkian on the “ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel”.
In its first statement on 13 June after Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, which included the bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities and the killing of senior military officials, India had expressed its “deep concern” over the situation. On 14 June, India had distanced itself from a statement made by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation that condemned Israel’s military operation. At the time, New Delhi had said that its own position had been “articulated” in its statement released on 13 June.
“India did not participate in the discussions on the above-mentioned SCO statement,” the Ministry of External Affairs had said at the time. The SCO statement had “strongly condemned” Israel for the “gross violation of international law” and “infringement” on Iran’s sovereignty.
The SCO is a regional grouping, which includes India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
However, New Delhi has not distanced itself from the BRICS statement, which also called for the “establishing a zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, in line with relevant international resolutions”.
“Guided by the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter, BRICS remains committed to promoting international peace and security and to fostering diplomacy and peaceful dialogue as the only sustainable path toward long-term stability in the region,” Wednesday’s statement added.
Iran is a member of the BRICS, along with the founding members—Brazil, Russia, China, India and South Africa. The other members of the forum are Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Indonesia. The BRICS summit is set to be held in Rio de Janeiro on 6-7 July.
Modi is set to travel to Brazil for the summit as a part of a five-nation visit, which will also see him travel to Ghana, Namibia, Trinidad and Tobago and Argentina, as reported by ThePrint earlier.
Iran and Israel have maintained a ceasefire for the last two days, following a strike by Tehran at an American air base in Qatar Monday. While both West Asian nations accused each other of violating the ceasefire, a furious US President Donald Trump called on Israel to “not drop the bombs” at Iran on his social media platform Truth Social Tuesday.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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