‘Break US Unilateralism’: Iran’s Pezeshkian Says BRICS Was Built To Counter Washington

New Delhi: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday declared that the BRICS grouping was specifically created to counter Washington's unilateral sanctions regime.  

In an exclusive interview with India Today on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, Pezeshkian emphasised that BRICS aims to break the "totalitarianism" of the United States, positioning the bloc as a direct challenge to Washington's ability to impose economic restrictions on nations at its own discretion.  

"The objective of BRICS and what we have come here for is that, regarding the trend which has begun by the US and, you know, actually it sanctions any country it wishes. On the other hand, the BRICS intention is to break this kind of totalitarianism. That is why BRICS was developed," the Iranian President said. 

Pezeshkian said BRICS should enable its members to develop alternative forms of trade and cooperation independent of sanctions imposed by individual countries. 

“We're supposed to change the type of interactions and the type of trade and cooperation, regardless of and independent of the fact that one country may be, you know, at whim to sanction other countries,” he said. 

He added that the grouping's members should work together to resist what he described as unilateralism. 

“We are here to help each other and to support each other so that this unilateralism can be fought against,” Pezeshkian said, adding that the objective was to “derail America from this unilateralism”. 

The remarks come as BRICS leaders meet in New Delhi amid heightened tensions in West Asia and renewed confrontation involving Iran and the United States. 

The BRICS New Delhi declaration adopted on Saturday expressed serious concern over the escalating violence in West Asia and called for maximum restraint and a multilateral approach to resolving disputes. 

Addressing the ongoing conflict, Pezeshkian strongly rejected the suggestion that Iran was responsible for initiating the war, accusing the US of launching attacks without what he described as an internationally recognised legal or humanitarian basis. 

“We did not start the war. They [US] started the war,” Pezeshkian said. 

He alleged that Iranian political and military leaders, scientists, students and infrastructure had been targeted during the attacks. 

“They martyred our leader. They martyred our military commanders. They martyred innocent students at school during one day. They martyred all of them. They martyred our scientists and they bombarded our infrastructure," he said. 

Pezeshkian said Tehran viewed its subsequent military response as self-defence. 

“Therefore, the trend they are following, actually, we defended ourselves,” he said. 

His comments come as the conflict has increasingly raised concerns beyond the immediate Iran-US confrontation, particularly over energy markets and maritime security in the region. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his meeting with Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, reiterated India's position that disputes in West Asia should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. 

He also stressed the importance of freedom of navigation and commerce and the safety of seafarers. 

Against this backdrop, Pezeshkian also made a strong case for India's continued engagement with Iran through Chabahar, describing the Iranian port's location as strategically important for regional connectivity. 

Iran, he said, occupies a “geopolitically important spot” and can serve as a crossroads linking north and south as well as east and west. 

“It can connect south to north, west to east and each country together. And this is the easiest and most economical route for the regional countries in establishing economic ties, cultural, political, scientific and social relations,” he said. 

Pezeshkian invoked the historical importance of Iran as part of the Silk Road, saying Tehran was ready to, however, faces the complications arising from US sanctions on Iran. 

“It used to be, in the past, Iran was a spot on the Silk Road and connectivity among civilisations was developed through these routes. Now we can revive it,” he said. 

India has invested in Chabahar as an important gateway to Central Asia. 

Asked whether the Chabahar project and Indian investment had figured in his discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pezeshkian said the two sides had discussed a broad range of possibilities. 

“India can invest there. Currently it has some investments and it is underway,” he said. 

According to the Iranian President, cooperation need not be restricted to port infrastructure and could include trade, partnerships and a broader “network of interactions”. 

“So we are ready and in all those choices we are ready to cooperate,” he said. 

Pezeshkian's remarks also underline the expanding geopolitical role that Tehran sees for BRICS. Iran joined the grouping as part of its expansion, alongside other new members, giving the bloc a wider footprint across Asia, West Asia and the Global South. 

The Iranian President's argument is that the grouping can translate its economic weight into greater independence from Western-dominated financial and trading systems. He has also called for deeper economic integration among BRICS countries and greater use of alternative mechanisms for trade and financing. (