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BRICS ministers fail to issue a joint statement over differences on conflict in the Middle East

NEW DELHI (AP) — A two-day meeting of foreign ministers from the BRICS nations concluded in New Delhi on Friday without a joint statement because of “differing views among some members” on the situation in the Middle East, host India said.

The differences highlighted the challenge of maintaining unity within the bloc as it seeks to expand its influence.

The Indian statement said members expressed “their respective national positions and shared a range of perspectives” on issues including sovereignty, maritime security and the protection of civilian infrastructure and civilian lives in the Middle East.

It also included a footnote saying that “a member had reservations” about parts of sections dealing with Gaza and security in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

BRICS includes Brazil, ​Russia, India, China, South Africa, ‌Ethiopia, ⁠Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia.

Divisions among member have become more visible during the Iran war, particularly between Iran and the UAE.

On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged BRICS nations to condemn the U.S. and Israel over what he described as their “unlawful aggression.” He also called on member states to resist what he said was the politicization of international institutions.

Iran attacks Bahrain and Kuwait following US strikes, threatens to end talks to end the war

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched drone and missile attacks Sunday targeting Bahrain and Kuwait in response to U.S. airstrikes that hit the Islamic Republic, and threatened a “complete halt” could come to negotiations to end the war if Washington continues its attacks. Efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf that once carried a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas, without Iran's direct oversight sparked the crossfire now gripping the region. A multinational maritime body overseen by the U.S. Navy said Saturday that it would expand a route near Oman in the Strait of Hormuz to allow for both inbound and outbound traffic — setting up a new flashpoint with Tehran. Iran insists it alone must govern the strait after the war, upending decades of the world considering that the strait was international waters free for all, despite its sitting in Iran and Oman's territorial waters. Tehran has twice attacked vessels going through the Oman route, backed by a United Nations agency, in recent days. Early Sunday, the U.S. military’s Central Command said it struck Iranian military “surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities and minelayer capabilities” following an attack on a ship at sea early Saturday morning. That ship, the Panamanian-flagged tanker Kiku, carried crude oil for the state-run energy company of Qatar, a key negotiator between Iran and the United States.
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