Iran wins backing of BRICS allies over Israel, US strikes

RIO DE JANEIRO: Iran won the support of fellow BRICS nations meeting in Rio de Janeiro Sunday, with the bloc condemning recent Israel and US air strikes that hit military, nuclear and other targets.

“We condemn the military strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran since 13 June 2025,” leaders said in a summit statement, without naming the United States or Israel.

“We further express serious concern over deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities,” the bloc said.

The 11-nation grouping said the strikes “constitute a violation of international law.”

The declaration is a diplomatic victory for Tehran, which has received limited regional or global support after a 12-day bombing campaign by the Israeli military, which culminated in US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities at Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan.

The BRICS gathering includes Israel’s arch foe Iran, but also nations like Russia and China, which have ties with Tehran.

BRICS diplomats had been in disagreement over how strongly to denounce Israel’s bombing of Iran and its actions in Gaza, but ultimately strengthened their language at Tehran’s request.

BRICS for ‘unconditional’ Gaza ceasefire

The BRICS leaders meeting also called for negotiators to reach a quick and unconditional ceasefire to end the 22-month-old war in Gaza.

“We exhort the parties to engage in good faith in further negotiations to achieve an immediate, permanent and unconditional ceasefire,” the 11-nation bloc said in a final summit statement.

The BRICS also called for a “full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and all other parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”

The bloc’s statement came as Gaza truce talks between Israel and Hamas resumed in Doha, and as pressure mounted to end the war, which began with Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attacks.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,418 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.

Gaza truce talks to resume in Doha before Netanyahu heads to US

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to visit the White House on Monday for talks with US President Donald Trump, who is pushing to end the war and has said he hopes for a ceasefire deal in the coming week.

‘Serious concerns’ about Trump tariffs

Additionally, BRICS leaders warned that US President Donald Trump’s “indiscriminate” import tariffs risked hurting the global economy.

“We voice serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures which distort trade and are inconsistent with WTO rules,” the bloc said in the summit statement, referring to the World Trade Organization.

The 11 emerging nations — including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — represent about half the world’s population and 40 percent of global economic output.

The bloc is divided about much, but has found common cause when it comes to the mercurial US leader and his stop-start tariff wars.

BRICS described such tariffs as illegal and arbitrary, threatening to “further reduce global trade, disrupt global supply chains, and introduce uncertainty into international economic and trade activities.”

In April, Trump threatened allies and rivals alike with a slew of punitive duties, but abruptly offered a reprieve in the face of a fierce market sell-off.

Trump has warned they will again impose unilateral levies on partners unless they reach “deals” by August 1.