Iran aims to join BRICS to uphold multilateralism, counter sanctions: FM

TEHRAN, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Tuesday that joining the BRICS would be Iran's next step in upholding multilateralism and countering sanctions.

He made the remarks in an interview with the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network, which was broadcast live on Tuesday night, commenting on the advantages that Iran can get from joining regional organizations, such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the BRICS, the acronym for an emerging-market cooperative mechanism that groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The Iranian diplomat's comments followed Iran's admission to the SCO as a full member early this month.

By joining organizations such as the SCO and BRICS, Iran mainly seeks to achieve a breakthrough in its foreign trade, move toward multilateralism and counter unilateral policies, such as sanctions, Amir-Abdollahian noted.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has been invited to take part as special guest in the 15th BRICS Summit, which is scheduled to be held in the city of Johannesburg in South Africa in August, according to the minister.

He emphasized that the world of today is not one of unilateralism and that a new international order is emerging, adding that an important feature of the new order is that countries have focused on efforts to put an end to unilateralism and move toward multilateralism.