Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has arrived in New Delhi for a three-day visit to attend the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, marking Tehran’s first high-level engagement with India since the recent escalation of the West Asia conflict.
Araghchi’s flight attracted attention because he travelled on an aircraft labeled Minab168, a reference to the 168 girls reportedly killed in a missile strike on a school in Minab during the early days of the war.
India’s External Affairs Ministry welcomed the minister on arrival. During the visit Araghchi is expected to hold substantive bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, with discussions likely to centre on the intensifying US-Israel-Iran confrontation, regional stability, energy security and the security of the Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow chokepoint linking the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, is expected to be a primary focus. Nearly 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas transit the waterway, and rising tensions have raised fears of supply disruptions and higher crude prices. India is reported to seek assurances for the safe passage of merchant vessels.
Araghchi and other BRICS foreign ministers are also scheduled to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the summit.
Iranian officials are using the BRICS platform to press for deeper multilateral ties and to push back against unilateral sanctions. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, also attending the meeting, described BRICS as a vehicle to reduce reliance on what he called discriminatory mechanisms and argued that unilateral coercive measures are illegal and harmful to development.
Despite Iran’s push, divisions persist within BRICS over the West Asia crisis. Diplomats say members remain split and were unable last month to agree a joint statement at deputy foreign minister level after disputes between Iran and the United Arab Emirates over alleged attacks on regional energy infrastructure.
BRICS, originally formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the UAE, with Indonesia joining in 2025. The New Delhi talks are expected to be dominated by efforts to manage regional tensions and their impact on global energy markets.
