New Delhi | The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is stalling the BRICS consensus on West Asia conflict and Iran will welcome any initiative by India to bring peace to the region, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Wednesday, ahead of a key conclave of the grouping.
Gharibabadi, currently visiting India, told a select group of journalists that Iran and Oman are developing a new service-and-payment-based framework for the passage of merchant vessels through the Strait of Hormuz in line with international norms.
The deputy foreign minister said Iran allowed several Indian vessels to transit through the Strait of Hormuz and some more ships could be granted permission to head home.
Gharibabadi said a demand by one member country of the BRICS to condemn Iran has prevented the grouping from reaching a unified position on the West Asia conflict.
"We want India's BRICS chairship to be successful. It is not a good approach to send a signal to the world that the BRICS is divided. One country is insisting on condemning Iran," he said.
The deputy foreign minister is in New Delhi as part of the Iranian delegation for the two-day BRICS conclave beginning Thursday.
"We have not attacked neighbouring countries. They handed their territories to the US to launch an attack on us. We never insisted that Arab countries should be condemned as they allowed their military bases to the US."
Gharibabadi said India has displayed "impartiality" as a chair of the BRICS.
The senior Iranian leader's comments came a day before India hosts a conclave of the foreign ministers of the BRICS ahead of the annual summit of the grouping in September.
Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov are among those attending the two-day conclave that is expected to extensively deliberate on the West Asia crisis, including its impact on energy supplies.
It will be interesting to see if the foreign ministerial conclave manages to produce a consensus statement on the conflict in West Asia.
Sharp differences between Iran and the UAE, both members of the BRICS, over the US-Israel war on Iran stalled India's efforts to build a consensus position on the conflict during a meeting of the grouping's deputy foreign ministers and special envoys on the Middle East and North America last month.
Gharibabadi, delving into historic, cultural and civilisational relations between India and Iran, said Tehran welcome any initiative by New Delhi to bring peace and stability to West Asia that will be beneficial for all the countries in the region and beyond.
"India has always supported peace. It is in favour of peace and stability in the region. We will welcome whatever initiative India takes for peace," he said.
The deputy foreign minister also responded to a question on Pakistan's role as mediator between Iran and the US by saying that Tehran would welcome all such diplomatic efforts. "Pakistan is only a facilitator. We will welcome all such initiatives."
The deputy foreign minister said Iran is committed to the Chabahar port project and it is for India to decide how to move forward in view of the US sanctions on the project.
Gharibabadi, who was part of the Iranian negotiating team for talks with the US, said Washington has suffered a strategic loss in the war and claimed that it is not serious in ending the hostilities through diplomacy.
The Iranian deputy foreign minister said his government will open the Strait of Hormuz if the US lifts its blockade of Iran's ports, ends the war and releases Tehran's frozen assets.
Gharibabadi said his country is working with Oman on a framework for the passage of merchant ships through the key waterway in line with international norms and standards.
Under the new initiative, Oman and Iran will provide navigational and other services to the merchant vessels and depending on the quantum of cargo and the size of the ships, fees will be charged, he said, elaborating on the provisional proposal.
"The Strait of Hormuz will be better than before once peace returns. There will be transparency, and we will not allow any discrepancy," he said.
Global oil and gas prices have surged after Iran virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that handles roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas).
Gharibabadi said Iran allowed several Indian vessels to transit through the Strait of Hormuz and some more ships could be granted permission to head home.
The deputy foreign minister claimed that if the Strait of Hormuz is opened now, it could be used for military purposes against Iran.
After the West Asia conflict escalated, Iran urged India, as the current BRICS chair, to leverage its "independent role" to halt the US-Israel hostilities against Iran.
BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, with Indonesia joining in 2025.
It has emerged as an influential grouping as it brings together 11 major emerging economies of the world, representing around 49.5 per cent of the global population, around 40 per cent of the global GDP and around 26 per cent of the global trade.
The BRICS meeting will be chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
New Delhi | India and the United Arab Emirates are expected to firm up two significant agreements to boost cooperation in areas of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and strategic petroleum reserves during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Gulf nation on May 15, authoritative sources said on Wednesday.
The key focus of Modi's trip to the UAE will be to enhance India's energy security, they said.
The prime minister will be in the Gulf nation for around four hours before embarking on a five-day four-nation tour of Europe.
The visit comes days after the UAE announced quitting the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries or OPEC, a major grouping of the world's top oil exporters.
Besides energy security, PM Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will explore ways to advance India-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership and exchange views on the West Asia conflict.
The escalating conflict between the US and Iran has severely destabilised global energy markets, primarily due to Tehran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz -- a vital transit chokepoint, through which approximately 20 per cent of the world's total petroleum supply flows.
PM Modi and President Al Nahyan are also expected to deliberate on boosting bilateral trade and investment ties.
The UAE is India's third largest trade partner and its seventh largest source of investment cumulatively over the past 25 years.
"We have a concrete agenda covering the full spectrum of bilateral relations with the UAE," Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Sibi George, said at a media briefing.
In the second leg of his trip, Modi will visit the Netherlands from May 15 to 17. It will be his second trip to the Netherlands after his previous visit in 2017.
The prime minister will meet King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima, and hold talks with Prime Minister Rob Jetten.
The MEA said Modi's visit will provide an opportunity to further deepen and expand the multifaceted partnership.
The Netherlands is one of India's largest trade destinations in Europe, with bilateral trade worth USD 27.8 billion in 2024-25. The European nation is India's fourth largest investor with cumulative foreign direct investment of USD 55.6 billion.
From the Netherlands, the prime minister will travel to Sweden at the invitation of his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson for a two-day trip from May 17 to 18.
Modi had earlier visited Sweden in 2018 for the first-ever India-Nordic Summit. The prime minister is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with PM Kristersson to review the entire gamut of bilateral relations and explore new avenues of cooperation to enhance bilateral trade, which has reached USD 7.75 billion in 2025.
In their talks, the two sides are set to focus on boosting bilateral ties in areas of green transition, AI, emerging technologies, startups, resilient supply chains, defence, space, climate action and people-to-people ties, according to the MEA.
In the fourth leg of his tour, Modi will undertake a visit to Norway from May 18 to 19 to attend the third India-Nordic summit and to hold bilateral talks with the leadership of the country.
This will be the first visit of PM Modi to Norway. It will also mark the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Norway in 43 years.
The prime minister will call on King Harald V and Queen Sonja, and hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store.
Modi will also address the India-Norway Business and Research Summit along with the Norwegian prime minister, the MEA said.
"The visit will provide an opportunity to review the progress made in India-Norway relations and explore avenues to further strengthen them, with a focus on trade and investment, capitalising on the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement, as well as on clean and green tech and blue economy," it said.
The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) nations are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.
The third India-Nordic summit will take place in Oslo on May 19 and it will be joined by Modi and his counterparts from Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Sweden.
The summit will build upon the two previous summits held in Stockholm in April 2018 and in Copenhagen in May 2022, and is expected to impart a more strategic dimension to India's relationship with the Nordic countries.
In the final leg of his tour, PM Modi will undertake an official visit to Italy from May 19 to 20 at the invitation of his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni.
Modi had last visited Italy in June 2024 for the G7 Summit.
During the visit, he will call on President Sergio Mattarella and hold talks with PM Meloni.
The visit takes place in the backdrop of a strong momentum in bilateral ties with both sides proactively implementing the joint strategic action plan 2025-2029, a comprehensive roadmap for cooperation in various sectors, the MEA said.
The India-Italy bilateral trade reached USD 16.77 billion in 2025.
The focus of Modi's trip to Italy is likely to be to bolster ties in areas of investment, defence and security, clean energy, innovation, and science and technology.