BRICS leaders call for maximum restraint in the Middle East and for resolving disputes through diplomacy

🔸BRICS member country leaders, at a meeting in New Delhi, expressed “deep concern” about the escalation of the war in the Middle East and called for the “utmost restraint” by the parties and for avoiding actions that could lead to a further worsening of the situation.

🔸The joint statement by the BRICS leaders was issued on Saturday, 21 Shahrivar, as BRICS foreign ministers, at a meeting in late Ordibehesht this year in New Delhi, had been unable to reach agreement on a joint statement due to differences over the war in Iran.

🔸In the new statement, BRICS members, while emphasizing their different positions, called for the peaceful resolution of international disputes through “dialogue, consultation, and diplomacy.”

🔸The war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran on 9 Esfand of last year, and in the following months its scope was extended to other parts of the region. Continued fighting in Lebanon and Yemen and tensions over shipping in the Strait of Hormuz have been among its most important regional consequences.

🔸The statement also condemned attacks on non-military infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities under the full safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and emphasized the need to observe nuclear safety and security even during armed conflicts.

🔸During the 12-day war in Khordad 1404, the United States targeted several Iranian nuclear facilities, and in the final days of that war, the U.S. also bombed the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan facilities.

🔸These centers were under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards, but with the start of the Agency’s field verification activities, they stopped, and after the war, inspectors were unable to gain access to the damaged facilities. The Agency says that as a result of the continuation of this situation, it is no longer able to verify the inventory and location of part of the nuclear materials declared by Iran.

🔸Read the full report on the Radio Farda website.