Pezeshkian-MBZ Meet In Delhi: How India’s BRICS Platform Created Space For Iran-UAE Engagement Amid West Asia Tensions

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi on Saturday. This marks their first publicly known face-to-face interaction since the West Asia war began on February 28.

The meeting, confirmed by the Iranian Embassy in India in a post on X, came against the backdrop of tensions between Tehran and Abu Dhabi.

Iranian sources did not respond when being asked to comment on this crucial meeting however, the interaction drew a lot of eyeballs in the diplomatic circles and on social media with speculations being raised on the possibility of New Delhi playing a mediator role in this.

The interaction became increasingly significant as both Iran and the UAE are relatively new members of the BRICS and have found themselves navigating sharply competing regional interests amid the wider West Asia conflict.

Kabir Taneja, Executive Director at the Observer Research Foundation, told Outlook that the BRICS summit provided a convenient multilateral setting for the two leaders to meet. “The meeting between Pezeshkian and the President of Abu Dhabi happened because of the BRICS summit. It is simpler to meet under a multilateral framework than any other sort of bilateral visit or state visit,” Taneja said.

According to him, the venue itself was less important than the multilateral framework that BRICS provided.

The UAE had concerns over the language relating to Iran in the joint declaration but also did not want the dispute to undermine its position within BRICS.

“The UAE also did not want to capitulate its position in BRICS. It is a new member along with Iran, and shaking that multilateral because of what is happening in the Middle East right now would have been counterproductive for the UAE as well,” Taneja added.

Notably, the meeting also comes ahead of a planned engagement between Gulf foreign ministers and Iran's foreign minister in Oman, next week, adding another layer to the emerging diplomatic activity around the conflict.

Taneja said the Delhi meeting should not, however, be interpreted as evidence of a breakthrough in Iran-UAE relations.

“This meeting does not mean that it is a rapprochement between the UAE and Iran. But of course, India would have played a small role to give that space in this multilateral system for both countries to meet, but that does not mean that things have resolved or tensions are lower,” he added further.

Despite the tensions, there have been signs of limited practical engagement between Tehran and Abu Dhabi.

There has been resumption of some flights between Tehran and Dubai and the renewed use of Iranian airspace by UAE airlines for certain routes as indications of a degree of “workability” between the two sides.

The meeting is also significant for BRICS itself. According to experts, the grouping is increasingly being used as a venue where countries can facilitate conversations on difficult geopolitical issues, even though BRICS has no formal mandate to resolve regional conflicts.

“BRICS is just a conduit and just a venue for all of these things taking shape. BRICS by itself does not have any mandate to resolve anything, but individual countries will push BRICS as a venue and as a multilateral forum,” Taneja said.

Also, there are clear indications of China's larger diplomatic ambitions in West Asia, noting that Beijing had previously brokered the Saudi-Iran rapprochement and was seeking to build an image as a country capable of bringing regional rivals together.

For India, the meeting underscores the diplomatic utility of New Delhi's BRICS presidency at a time when the grouping is attempting to project itself as a platform for dialogue amid deepening global geopolitical divisions.

The Pezeshkian-MBZ meeting, therefore, may be less a sign of an Iran-UAE thaw and more an illustration of how multilateral forums are creating diplomatic space between countries whose bilateral relations remain tense.