Iran foreign minister likely to visit India for BRICS meeting next week

NEW DELHI: Iran’s foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi is likely to visit India for the May 14-15 BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting that will look to address the situation in the West Asia region. Amid uncertainty over his participation, Iran is learnt to have communicated to India that the visit is on the foreign minister’s agenda at this stage. While the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, has already confirmed his participation, his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi will likely skip participation because his presence is required at the critical Donald Trump-Xi Jinping summit, the dates for which are clashing with the BRICS meeting. Araghchi's participation could still be contingent on whether the fragile US-Iran ceasefire holds as another military flare-up may drastically alter the situation. Tehran is currently studying a 14-point US peace proposal, which seeks an end to Iran’s uranium enrichment programme for at least 12 years in exchange for gradual lifting of US sanctions. Iran, however, attaches great importance to BRICS, which it joined in 2024 along with Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and both Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian have urged India to work towards a consensus within the grouping for a joint statement against US-Israel actions in the West Asia conflict. India maintains though that sharp differences between opposing parties in the conflict – mainly Iran and UAE – has blocked all attempts to generate a consensus document. This was the reason why the meeting of BRICS special envoys last month ended only with a Chair’s statement, and not a joint declaration. Government sources had then said that all efforts to bridge the gap between the 2 sides by India and others were not successful. Ties with the UAE remain a top priority for India, and PM Narendra Modi is likely to visit Abu Dhabi on May 15 for a quick meeting with President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on his way to Europe. Araghchi’s visit will also provide an opportunity for India to have a comprehensive engagement with Tehran on issues of immediate concern like the disruption in LPG supplies because of the situation in the Strait of Hormuz. India has preferred to deal diplomatically with Iran, instead of weighing participation in any military coalition to secure the Hormuz strait