Iran's Pezeshkian Urges BRICS to Expand National Currency Trade at Summit

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian urged BRICS nations to broaden trade in their national currencies and build a more inclusive global economic framework, warning that heavy reliance on a narrow set of financial and trade systems leaves emerging economies exposed to political shocks.

Speaking at the closing session of the two-day BRICS summit hosted by India, Mr. Pezeshkian took aim at what he described as unilateral sanctions, saying they have a direct bearing on global food security and the welfare of ordinary people. His remarks came weeks after the United States imposed fresh economic sanctions on Iran, tightening pressure on Tehran's finances amid continuing military hostilities between the two countries.

The Iranian President said BRICS had outgrown its origins as a platform for cooperation among emerging economies and now reflected a widening demand for a more balanced and inclusive world order, in which no single centre of power can decide the fate of others. The grouping, he said, must take on a larger role in shaping a fairer international system, turning the principles of resilience, cooperation and sustainability into concrete action.

Mr. Pezeshkian argued that economic resilience cannot hold without security, pointing to what he called military aggression by the United States and Israel against Iran. He said strikes on Iran's economic, energy and development infrastructure carry consequences that extend beyond its borders, with regional and global ramifications. The Iranian people, he added, have borne a heavy cost, with civilian deaths and damage to infrastructure built over decades, and he said the international community has a duty to protect civilians and resist the normalisation of attacks on civilian targets.

On the economic front, he pressed for stronger trade in national currencies and for reinforcing the New Development Bank to bolster the economic resilience of BRICS members. He also flagged the environmental fallout of war, noting that damage to energy and industrial infrastructure harms natural resources well beyond the immediate economic losses.

Turning to West Asia, Mr. Pezeshkian said people in Gaza and Lebanon continue to face the consequences of what he termed crimes and genocide, and called on BRICS to play a more effective role in upholding national sovereignty, territorial integrity and the prohibition on the use of force.

He stressed that no country can tackle global challenges alone and called for converting the capacities of the Global South into shared strengths. Highlighting Iran's geopolitical position along with its energy and transit potential, he said these could feed into the development of trade and energy corridors among BRICS members.

On sustainability, he cautioned that development which deepens inequality or shifts today's costs onto future generations cannot be sustainable. He identified knowledge and innovation as central to the BRICS agenda, arguing that artificial intelligence and emerging technologies should empower nations rather than serve as instruments of domination.

Mr. Pezeshkian reaffirmed Iran's willingness to contribute its capacities to BRICS cooperation, framing resilience as dependent on sustained cooperation, cooperation as requiring justice, and sustainability as impossible without peace and security. He thanked India, its people and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for hosting the summit, saying its theme reflected the needs of an increasingly interconnected world, and urged that BRICS become a platform for translating these principles into practice.