Is BRICS bloc divided over US-Israel attacks on Iran?

Nearly a week into the United States-Israel war on Iran and the BRICS bloc, a multi-country alliance that includes Tehran, has not reacted in any form to the conflict.

To analysts and political observers, that seems out of character. When the 12-day war between Israel and Iran broke out in June last year, the bloc, which Brazil then chaired, was quick to state that US-Israeli joint attacks on Iran were a “violation of international law”.

However, since the chairmanship of BRICS shifted to India in December 2025, New Delhi’s own interests appear to be overriding the alliance’s objectives, critics say, as India signals closer ties with Israel and the US.

The 11-member BRICS grouping was formed as an economic alliance in 2009 and is widely regarded as a “Global South” alternative to the exclusive Group of Seven (G7) alliance of industrialised economies.

US President Donald Trump once accused its members of being “anti-American”, although BRICS has said it does not see itself as competing with or countering any other groups.

In recent years, the organisation’s mandate has broadened to include security issues, with members conducting joint military drills – most recently hosted by South Africa in January this year, when India opted out.

BRICS is named after the first letters of its founding members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Since 2024, BRICS has expanded to include Indonesia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Here’s what we know about how India’s interests may have come into conflict with those of other BRICS nations:How have BRICS countries responded to the US-Israel war on Iran?
The organisation itself, under Indian leadership in 2026, has not commented directly about the US-Israeli Operation Epic Fury in Iran, which has seen multiple missile and drone attacks across the country, killing more than 1,230 people in its first six days.