External affairs minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday spoke out against unilateral sanctions while addressing the BRICS foreign ministers' meeting in the capital, arguing that such coercive measures disproportionately affect developing countries.
Delivering the national statement as the Chair of BRICS this year, Jaishankar said: "We must also address the increasing resort to unilateral coercive measures and sanctions inconsistent with international law and the UN Charter. Such measures disproportionately affect developing countries. These unjustifiable measures cannot substitute dialogue, nor can pressure replace diplomacy."
He did not name any country, but the reference appeared to be to the US, which has imposed sanctions on at least two BRICS countries — Russia and Iran.
The meeting is being held in the middle of two conflicts — Russia-Ukraine and Iran-Israel/US — which have upended global supply chains, particularly of oil and gas, and affected economies across the globe. Iran, in particular, has been pressing India to get BRICS to issue a joint statement against the US-Israel attacks on its territory, but a consensus has not been reached because of Tehran's retaliatory strikes on US bases in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, both of which are members of the grouping.
According to reports in the Iranian media, the ministers of Iran and the UAE sparred at this meeting. Iran’s state-owned Press TV said foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi condemned the "baseless claims" made by the Emirati representative at the gathering.
Araghchi said he had chosen not to name the UAE in his own speech out of a desire to preserve unity, but then felt compelled to set the record straight. "The UAE was directly involved in the act of aggression against my country," the report quoted him as saying.
Stating that Araghchi said Iran had targeted US military bases and facilities inside the UAE, and only acted in self-defence as the attacks intensified, the report said the minister also sought to offer "brotherly advice to Emirati friends".
"Your alliance with the Israelis did not protect you either. I advise you to reconsider your way of thinking. If you want Israel to secure you, this is the result. If you want America to secure you, this is the same result you are now complaining about,” the report quoted Araghchi as saying.
In his speech, which he read out from a prepared text, Araghchi said: "Iran, like many other independent nations, is the victim of illegal expansionism and war mongering… By now it ought to be clear that Iran is unbreakable and only emerges stronger and more united when under pressure."
Stating that "there is no such thing as a military solution to anything related to Iran", he said Iran would not bow to threats but would reciprocate the language of respect. "We are not the aggressor but the aggrieved," he said, urging BRICS to step up and speak out in one voice against the impunity and sense of entitlement of those who think might is right.
Earlier, referring to the "unprecedented geopolitical and economic uncertainty" caused by conflicts, climate events and the Covid pandemic, Jaishankar said: "There is also an overarching trend reflecting the rebalancing and democratisation of the global order. Not all nations are able to come to terms with it. Cumulatively, these developments are weakening growth prospects and deepening vulnerabilities. What we are witnessing is not a series of isolated events, but a convergence of challenges testing the resilience of multilateral systems."
On the conflict in West Asia, he said, continuing tensions, risks to maritime traffic, and disruptions to energy infrastructure highlighted the fragility of the situation. Safe and unimpeded maritime flows through international waterways, including the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea, remains vital for global economic well-being, he said.