BRICS Meets Reality in the Middle East War (excerpts) C. Raja Mohan, former member of India’s National Security Advisory Board. Foreign Policy , Mach 16, 2026
Two weeks into the war in the Persian Gulf, BRICS has issued no joint statement on the conflict. This has disappointed many BRICS enthusiasts in both the East and the West who imagined the grouping as a credible counterweight to U.S. power and a harbinger of a multipolar order. Yet the failure should not surprise anyone. It was foretold in the very structure of the grouping. When the United States and Israel launched a massive military attack on Iran—another BRICS member—the forum struggled to articulate a common response. Some members are working closely with Washington’s military operations; others, such as India, have developed strong partnerships with Israel. But the difficulty goes deeper than individual members’ ties with the United States or Israel. The problem lies within the grouping itself: the structural rivalry between Iran and the conservative Gulf monarchies such as the United Arab Emirates, which is also a BRICS member. The strategic divide between them is too deep. Iran has defined itself in opposition to the United States since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, while the UAE and its fellow monarchies have long been partners of Washington. It is one thing to sign on to general declarations about common interests and shared grievances against the West. It is quite another to manage real conflicts among the members themselves. An organization conceived as a challenge to Western power now finds itself a passive spectator to both Washington’s bombing campaign against Iran and Tehran’s retaliation against the Gulf states. The story of BRICS during the latest Middle Eastern war echoes a much older pattern in international politics. *When solidarity [among capitalist countries] collides with national interest, the latter prevails.* (emphasis added) https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/03/16/iran-war-trump-brics-china-russia-india-gulf/ The writer made no mention of the biggest power in BRICS, yet his analysis fits China perfectly. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#41148): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/41148 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/118369174/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
