Iran's Efforts to Join BRICS; Experts: No Success Expected

The President of the thirteenth government, who traveled to Johannesburg, South Africa on the first day of the last month of summer, stated that he intends to participate in the BRICS summit and cooperate with this group. However, experts told Voice of America that the Islamic Republic will not achieve success in BRICS either. Ebrahim Raisi, who arrived in Johannesburg on Wednesday evening, September 1, said before his flight to reporters that this trip is at the official invitation of the President of South Africa, who holds the rotating presidency of BRICS, and is aimed at participating in the BRICS summit. He added, 'BRICS has managed to bring together independent countries with a common goal of economic cooperation and countering unilateralism, and the primary goal of this trip is to participate in the summit and announce the positions of the Islamic Republic.' Meanwhile, the BRICS group has not yet agreed to Iran's membership in this group. A few days ago, the Russian state news agency reported, citing the Kremlin, that Vladimir Putin and Ebrahim Raisi discussed the possibility of Iran's membership in the BRICS group during a phone conversation on Thursday, August 17. Shahin Modarres, an international affairs expert, told Voice of America regarding the Islamic Republic's claim of cooperation with the BRICS group: 'BRICS has tried to pursue its developmental model parallel to the G7 by establishing the New Development Bank.' He rejected the claim made by the Iranian Foreign Minister that partnership between Iran and some BRICS countries has practically begun, adding, 'Global sanctions do not allow Iran to increase its trade exchanges even with BRICS member countries, thus Iran's potential acceptance into this group will not only not improve the situation of BRICS but will also slow its progress.' Majid Golpour, an international relations expert, also commented on Iran's potential membership in BRICS, stating, 'The issue of utilizing markets close to BRICS is an illusion created among the officials of the Islamic Republic.' He emphasized, 'The Islamic Republic will not achieve success in BRICS due to legal and banking problems and will not attain a significant position.' Currently, BRICS consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa and is looking to expand, with several other countries expressing interest in joining. The Islamic Republic of Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Comoros, Gabon, and Kazakhstan are seeking to join BRICS. As the fifteenth BRICS summit begins in South Africa, the leaders of China and Brazil emphasized strengthening the influence of countries referred to as the 'Global South.' Lula da Silva, the President of Brazil, stated that his country supports the establishment of a BRICS trade currency, but Putin, the President of Russia, is absent from this summit due to an international arrest warrant. According to South African officials, the 'rotating presidency of BRICS' will host leaders from about 50 countries at this year's summit, with more than 40 countries expressing interest in membership and over 20 countries, including Iran, having applied for membership. Majid Golpour reiterated that due to legal and banking problems, the Islamic Republic will not achieve success in BRICS. Jamshid Asadi noted that BRICS is seeking a position in international trade and will lose the largest markets without the dollar. The BRICS summit is being held in South Africa amid the trade competition between China and the United States.