Iran President, UAE Crown Prince meet on BRICS sidelines, back joint statement urging restraint in West Asia war

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of the first day of the New Delhi summit, marking the highest-level meeting between the two countries since the start of the West Asia conflict.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met with UAE Crown Prince Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit. (Photo Credit: @Iran_in_India/X)The two leaders discussed regional and international issues, de-escalation, stability, and efforts to promote regional peace and development, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said on X. It did not provide details of any specific outcomes from the meeting.

The meeting came just hours after Iran and the UAE joined other BRICS nations in signing a joint statement calling for restraint in the West Asia war on Saturday, signalling potential diplomatic progress between the two countries amid tensions linked to the conflict.

The joint BRICS declaration called for "exercising maximum restraint" and avoiding action that could worsen the situation.

"We express deep concern over the continued escalation of tensions in Middle East/West Asia ... call for exercising maximum restraint, as well as avoiding actions that could further aggravate the situation," the joint BRICS declaration read.

It also called for the protection of civilians, urged respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, and stressed the need to protect global trade, supply chains, energy flows and maritime security.

The US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on February 28, killing its then Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.

Following this, Tehran targeted US and Israeli interests in the region and tightened its control on the Strait of Hormuz, which sent global concerns and energy prices skyrocketing.

Iran also launched attacks on the UAE during the conflict, most recently in late August when it targeted the Al Minhad Air Base that housed US forces.

The US-Iran conflict has continued to drive heightened tensions across West Asia.

A crucial test for the bloc would be finding language on the West Asia crisis that both Abu Dhabi and Tehran could accept, Reuters reported, citing foreign policy experts.

Meanwhile, the Iranian embassy in India posted a photo of the meeting between its president and the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince.

"The key to ending the war lies with the US and Israel," Sunjay Sudhir, a former Indian ambassador to the UAE, told Reuters.

"What India has done is keep the difficult conversations going by showing that countries of the region can sit at the same table, engage diplomatically, and build on where their interests converge," Sudhir added.

According to the report, New Delhi, which has strong ties with the US, Russia, Israel, Iran and the Gulf Arab states, is engaged in a diplomatic balancing act.

This comes as India is hosting the 18th BRICS summit in New Delhi over the weekend.

Furthermore, the New Delhi Declaration, adopted at the summit on Saturday, emphasised that the grouping would strengthen cooperation while respecting the national priorities, laws and regulations of individual member states.

Leaders attending the key global event included Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The BRICS summit originally comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the UAE.