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New Delhi: The BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi ended on Friday (May 5) without adopting a common declaration, reflecting the deep divisions within the bloc over the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran and its wider regional fallout.

Instead of a negotiated joint statement, India as chair issued a “Chair’s Statement and Outcome Document”, an unusual outcome that reflected the inability of members to bridge disagreements.

The divisions surfaced in three distinct ways across the 63-paragraph document, demonstrating the increasingly complex internal dynamics within BRICS following its expansion in 2024 to include rival powers such as Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

The most consequential split centred on the Iran war itself – and who should be condemned for the conflict. The UAE had wanted Iran to be explicitly condemned, while Tehran wanted Israel and the US to be named for starting the war.

That disagreement prevented consensus on a joint declaration altogether and was reflected in paragraph 21 of the outcome document, which unusually acknowledged internal differences within BRICS.

“There were differing views among some members as regard to the situation in the West Asia/Middle East region,” the paragraph stated. BRICS members “expressed their respective national positions and shared a range of perspectives,” it added, listing only broad principles that were presented by the member states, including dialogue and diplomacy, respect for sovereignty, unimpeded maritime commerce and the protection of civilian infrastructure and lives.

The paragraph did not name the US, Israel or Iran, nor assign responsibility for the military confrontation. Neither was there any direct reference to the current situation in the Strait of Hormuz, despite the waterway’s importance to global energy flows and India’s energy security.

Since India’s chairship, which began in January 2026, BRICS has not issued a single consensus statement on the 40-day conflict in West Asia that followed the US-Israeli strikes on Iran February 28. A BRICS deputy foreign ministers’ meeting on West Asia held in New Delhi on April 24 had also failed to produce a joint communique after clashes between Iran and the UAE.

Reservations over Palestine and Yemen

The New Delhi document contained two additional fault lines linked to Palestine and Yemen. Two paragraphs carried footnotes recording reservations from “a member”, though the country was not identified.

One paragraph stated that Gaza was “an inseparable part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory” and called for it to be unified with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority. It also urged the international community to support the Palestinian Authority “in undergoing reforms” to fulfil Palestinian aspirations for statehood.

Sources said Iran was the unnamed member that........

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