Iranupdated 1h ago2 min read
Archive photo · 13 December 2025Iran Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf Skips 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum In New Delhi
“Ghalibaf's absence comes as Iran warns of a harsh military response to any renewed attacks by the United States and Israel.”
“This comes in the wake of reports that India refused to allow a shipment of medicines to be transported to Tehran by Iran Air.”
Photo: Mehr News Agency, CC BY 4.0 · Cropped for layout
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Iran's Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf will skip BRICS Forum in New Delhi due to unforeseen circumstances. An Iranian parliamentary delegation will attend the BRICS meeting in place of Ghalibaf.
Ghalibaf Skips BRICS
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf will not attend the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum in New Delhi, and the Iranian Embassy in India said the decision was due to "unforeseen circumstances." The Parliament of India will host the meeting of Speakers of the Parliaments of BRICS Member Countries in the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan on October 26 and 27, with the conference inaugurated on October 26. The Iranian Embassy in New Delhi emphasized that "the parliamentary delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran will participate in the meeting," even as Ghalibaf stays away.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would grace the event and meet the leaders of the visiting delegations. The forum is scheduled to include a meeting of the Secretaries of the delegations on 25 October 2026 to finalise the Joint Statement of the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum.
What the Forum Covers
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum would deliberate on the overarching theme of “Strengthening Parliaments for People-Centric Development". Om Birla said the forum would facilitate consensus-based dialogue through four high-level sessions, including “Resilience” and “Innovation: Promoting human-centred innovation in artificial intelligence and digital technologies through parliaments.” Om Birla said the forum would also cover “Cooperation: Ensuring a more representative system of global governance,” and the programme would bring together presiding officers and parliamentary leaders from BRICS member and partner countries.
The Iranian Embassy in India reiterated Iran’s commitment to “active and effective” participation at the highest levels in BRICS summits and meetings. The Iranian Embassy also thanked the Indian government for its hospitality and arrangements, and it expressed hopes for “constructive outcomes” from the meeting.
Diplomacy, Tensions, and Aid
The Hindu reported that the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran, Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, would not participate in the BRICS Parliamentary Forum on October 26 and 27 in New Delhi, and it tied the move to Iran seeking a bilateral air route for “humanitarian aid” from India. The Hindu said Iranian officials argued that “humanitarian assistance” is not under any international sanction and urged India to operationalise the bilateral air route “on priority basis” for humanitarian support to a fellow BRICS member country. The Hindu also quoted an Iranian official source saying, “Humanitarian assistance is not under any international sanction and medicine is a humanitarian necessity for a country like Iran.”
The Hindu described India’s position that Iran could take delivery of medical consignments through a third country like Armenia, and it said Indian pharmaceutical companies have been sending medicines to Iran through third countries like Oman and Armenia. The Week said the embassy reiterated Iran’s commitment to active participation in BRICS summits and meetings, while it framed Ghalibaf’s absence as coming amid fears that the war in Iran could resume after the US midterm elections on November 3.