# BRICS New Delhi Declaration and Brazil, Iran Calls for Reform Challenge Old Global Order

*Saturday, September 12, 2026 at 8:06 PM UTC — Hamer Intelligence Services Desk*

**Published**: 2026-09-12T20:06:27.347Z (2h ago)
**Category**: geopolitics | **Region**: Global
**Importance**: 8/10
**Sources**: OSINT
**Permalink**: https://hamerintel.com/data/articles/17631.md
**Source**: https://hamerintel.com/summaries

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**Deck**: At their New Delhi summit, BRICS leaders adopted a declaration that backs greater African and developing-country representation as Brazil demands "renewed and legitimate" multilateralism and Iran attacks Western double standards, framing the bloc as a vehicle to change who writes the rules of global governance.

BRICS leaders have used their New Delhi summit to signal a more assertive role in reshaping the global order, combining a new declaration with blunt calls from key members to overhaul how power and protection are distributed.

The declaration, adopted at what India’s prime minister described as the 18th BRICS summit, sets out what he called clear guidelines for how the bloc should develop. Reports on the text say it supports greater representation of African and other developing countries and highlights peace and multilateralism. A separate account described "bold gains" in the declaration for peace and multilateralism, and for Africa’s place in global decision-making.

Brazil, represented at the summit by Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira on behalf of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, used its platform to argue that BRICS must push for far-reaching changes. Vieira said the bloc needs to stand up "in defense of a renewed and legitimate multilateralism" in the face of what he called the collapse of the old international order, criticizing the "virtual paralysis" of major institutions.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian went further in a closed-door BRICS meeting in New Delhi. He argued that multilateralism becomes meaningless when the United Nations Charter doesn’t protect vulnerable states from military aggression and unilateral sanctions. In his view, Western double standards have undermined trust in the system, especially when it comes to sanctions and attacks on nuclear facilities in Iran.

These interventions reflect a shared frustration among many BRICS members and partners with institutions built in earlier eras. Decisions on sanctions, security, and financial flows taken far from their capitals shape whether they can manage debt, invest in development, and protect critical infrastructure.

Russia has seized on this mood to deepen its own role within the bloc. The head of its state nuclear company Rosatom said Moscow stands ready to share Russian quantum technologies with BRICS partners. He pointed to seven priority quantum computers, dozens of quantum algorithms, and multiple projects in quantum computing, sensors, and communications. He also said the BRICS Nuclear Energy Platform, launched in 2024, is now fully operational.

For Russia, which faces Western sanctions and political isolation over its war in Ukraine, expanding nuclear and high-tech cooperation through BRICS offers a way to build economic and strategic links outside Western-dominated systems.

African voices are pressing their own case. South African journalist Siyabonga Sithole told Sputnik Africa that "Africa needs to recognize its own greatness" and argued that BRICS gives the continent a voice it never had. Another report cited Ugandan interest in using BRICS support to secure market access, innovation, and stability, with Uganda seeking to join as a partner country.

Iran, already under heavy Western sanctions and the target of attacks on its nuclear facilities, is using the BRICS platform to demand protection for those sites. Summit reports say BRICS states expressed serious concern over attacks on nuclear facilities in Iran, aligning with Tehran’s calls for clearer rules and enforcement.

Taken together, the declaration and these statements don’t yet amount to a new system. They do, however, show a coalition of states and partners arguing that existing structures are failing them and that BRICS is one place where they can coordinate alternatives.

What will matter next isn’t the communiqués themselves but what follows: whether BRICS countries create concrete financial mechanisms that reduce reliance on Western-controlled systems, whether they coordinate more tightly in UN votes on sanctions and conflicts, and how far Brazil, India, and others go in pressing for change from inside existing institutions as well as outside them.