As the two-day meeting of BRICS foreign ministers in New Delhi concluded on Friday without a common position on the US-Iran war, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi slammed the UAE for “blocking” a joint statement by member nations because of its ties with Israel.
Both UAE and Iran are members of BRICS bloc, which also includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt and Indonesia.
“The final statement by the BRICS ministerial meeting was blocked — or some parts of that were blocked — by a member State that has its own special relations with Israel, and this is very unfortunate,” said.
Though Araghchi did not name the UAE directly, his words were directed at Abu Dhabi and its ties with Tel Aviv. "We have no difficulty with that certain country. They have not been our target in the current war. We only hit American military bases and American military installations, which are unfortunately on their soil,” Araghchi said.
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He claimed that UAE blocked the final BRICS statement because its backs Israel and the USA in their conflict with Iran.
“I hope by the time that we come for the [next] summit, they come to a good understanding that Iran is a neighbour. We have to live with each other. We have lived for centuries, and we have to live for centuries to come,” the minister added.
However, Abu Dhabi categorically rejected Tehran's allegations and its attempts to justify Iranian attacks targeting the UAE.
This was the second BRICS gathering in India that failed to produce a consensus on the Middle East conflict.
Meanwhile, Araghchi said India can play a "greater role" for peace in the Middle East, pointing out that there is no military solution to anything related to Iran. "We will welcome any constructive role by India," he said.
