By Alireza Hashemi
A Brazilian geopolitical analyst has hailed Iran’s accession to BRICS as a “masterstroke” of diplomacy, saying it will allow the country to reap great benefits in trade and transit.
Pepe Escobar, speaking to the Press TV website, said Iran has been increasingly working in sync with the Russia-China strategic partnership, as evidenced by its inclusion in the Shanghai Security Organization (SCO), and this strategic relationship helped prepare the ground for its BRICS membership.
“Iran is in total sync with the Russia-China strategic partnership. India was also from the start in favor of Iran’s admission, because of the International North-South Transport Corridor,” he said, referring to a transit route connecting Northern Europe to South Asia VIA Iran that is being completed.
However, what made Iran one of the first additions to BRICS was its “excellent diplomatic work”, the prominent geopolitical analyst and journalist, who has authored ‘Raging Twenties’ among other books.
“For Iran, this is a masterstroke. This was done thanks to excellent diplomatic work by the Iranian foreign ministry,” he noted in conversation with the Press TV website.
Escobar said Iran’s BRICS membership allows the country to reap many benefits, including in the fields of trade and transit.
“The possibilities of increased trade for Iran are limitless. Now BRICS even includes former Iran foes Saudi Arabia and the UAE,” he remarked.
“Also centrality of Iran in Eurasia is reaffirmed and this strengthens Iran’s transit potential. Both BRICS and INSTC may profit Iran in leaps and bounds from now on.”
Escobar further said the accession also helps boost Iran’s image worldwide and offers ways to further improve the country’s soft power.
“Iran should improve its soft power in Africa and South America, where it is viewed with deep respect by the overwhelming majority of public opinion,” he said.
Pertinently, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raeisi recently toured both Latin America and Africa where he was received warmly and entered a series of ambitious agreements with several countries.
The analyst said there are still challenges to Iran-BRICS cooperation, particularly over Western sanctions, which need to be dealt with.
“The question to solve is the New Development Bank, which is still prevented from issuing large loans bypassing the US dollar because of the bank’s statutes,” Escobar remarked.
“Further on down the road, the NDB can be not only helpful in loans for Iran but also financing Syria reconstruction.”
The New Development Bank of BRICS is deemed an important economic pillar of the influential bloc, which was established in 2014 with the aim of forging convergence among independent countries.
The Shanghai-headquartered bank was set up initially with a capital of $100 billion to finance infrastructure projects in BRICS member countries and other emerging markets.
Mohsen Rezaee, a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, has said preconditions include reparations and security guarantees
For the ongoing conflict between Iran and the US to conclude, the latter must withdraw its military forces from the Persian Gulf, according to a member of the advisory board of Iran’s supreme leader.
Mohsen Rezaee, a retired major general and former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), added that Tehran would also seek full restitution for the damage done and ironclad security guarantees from Washington.
In an interview with Iran’s SNN TV broadcaster published on Saturday, the member of the Expediency Discernment Council said that the “presence of the US in the Persian Gulf has been the main cause of insecurity over the past 50 years.”
“The end of the war is also in our hands,” Rezaee claimed, naming the “US withdrawal from the Persian Gulf” among the key prerequisites. Additionally, Iran expects to receive reparations from the ...
The spokesman for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters has accused the United States and Israel of deploying a rebranded copy of Iran’s Shahed-136 drone, designated “Lucas,” to carry out attacks on civilian infrastructure in regional countries as part of a deliberate false-flag operation aimed at framing the Islamic Republic.
In an official statement released today, the spokesman explained that after suffering military setbacks on the battlefield and failing to build political coalitions against Iran, the enemy has resorted to deception.
The statement specifically warned that the objective of these operations is to “create doubt and accuse the Islamic Republic of Iran” while sowing discord between Tehran and its neighbors, thereby undermining the legitimacy of Iran’s defensive actions.
The spokesman pointed to a series of “suspicious attacks” in recent days on facilities in friendly neighboring countries, including Turkey, Kuwait, and Iraq, which Western media outlets and hostile ...
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has announced the execution of the 51st wave of Operation True Promise 4, launching missile strikes against US military installations across the region in retaliation for ongoing American-Israeli aggression against the country.
The IRGC announced the latest wave was carried out using a combination of liquid-fuel and solid-fuel missiles against US terrorist army forces at the Al Kharj Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
According to the IRGC statement, Al Kharj base served as the "origin of aggressions against the Islamic homeland," functioning as the staging ground for US F-35 and F-16 fighter jets involved in attacks on Iran.
The base also houses fuel supply aircraft and serves as the main hub for American AWACS surveillance planes.
Concurrently, the spokesman for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters confirmed that the fiftieth wave of the operation struck multiple US terrorist army bases.
They include the Al Dhafra Air Base and Fujairah in the UAE, Jufair in ...
