New Delhi: India has used its BRICS presidency to provide a platform for West Asian countries for dialogue & deliberation and push for restraint & de-escalation. On the sidelines of the BRICS Summit 2026, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian held a high-level bilateral meeting with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on September 12, Saturday.
This landmark diplomatic engagement came against the backdrop of escalating regional tensions and military strikes involving Iran, the United States and Israel. The meeting between Iran and UAE also underscores New Delhi’s rising role as a bridge, peacemaker amid steep geopolitical divisions. At a critical juncture, where conflict & intense face-off is soaring, ceasefire negotiations have hit a deadlock and maritime security, energy security and seafarers safety is crumbling, Iran-UAE talks in India, hints a strategic signal towards negotiations, regional stability, peace and collective security.
🇮🇷🇦🇪 Iran and UAE
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met and held talks with Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/XLesT6guo4
— Megatron (@Megatron_ron) September 12, 2026
Pezeshkian-Khaled meeting marks significant diplomatic contact
Iran President Pezeshkian met UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled. The Iranian embassy confirmed that the two leaders held a meeting and talks and released a photograph of the interaction. The meeting assumes significance as Iran and the UAE have been navigating an increasingly volatile regional environment, with the Gulf facing heightened security risks amid the continuing conflict and ceasefire negotiations reaching a stalemate.
The engagement thus brought together two BRICS members into negotiations, as Iran is stuck in the conflict and the UAE manages to balance its position and national security in the region amid escalating confrontation. India’s ability to bring the Iranian and Emirati leadership together in New Delhi highlights the diplomatic space, leverage and the multi-alignment potential of India across competing geopolitical blocs.
Against this backdrop, India’s BRICS presidency and New Delhi acted as an important channel for direct diplomatic engagement between Iran and the UAE and underscores India’s consistent support to dialogue, diplomacy and regional peace.
New Delhi Declaration calls for maximum restraint
The diplomatic outreach in New Delhi was reinforced and was successful by the unanimous adoption of the New Delhi Declaration 2026 by BRICS leaders. The declaration expressed deep concern over the continued escalation of tensions in West Asia and called on all sides to exercise maximum restraint while avoiding actions that could further aggravate the situation.
BRICS leaders stressed the need to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure in accordance with the UN Charter, including respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. The declaration also called for greater reliance on dialogue and diplomacy to achieve a long-term understanding capable of delivering lasting peace, security and stability in the region.
Importantly, the BRICS statement linked regional stability to the uninterrupted movement of global trade, supply chains and energy, safety of commercial vessels & seafarers, reflecting the wider economic consequences of the conflict.
India emerges as the bridge within BRICS
The Iran-UAE engagement, combined with the consensus reached on the New Delhi Declaration, reflects India’s effort to use its BRICS presidency to create space for dialogue amid deep geopolitical divisions.
New Delhi maintains strategic relations with Tehran and Abu Dhabi while also preserving important partnerships with Washington and Israel. This multi-alignment gives India diplomatic room to engage with opposing sides without positioning itself as part of any one regional camp. Thereby India always and in every multilateral forum, champions collective security, regional peace and stability and Global South prosperity, Iran-UAE talks in New Delhi yet again, reinforces this strategic vision of New Delhi amid geopolitical upheavals.
