Tom O’Connor, writing in Newsweek on July 1, under the headline, “As NATO Grows, China and Russia Seek To Bring Iran, Saudi Arabia Into Fold,” assesses that both Iran and Saudi Arabia could be brought in as members of the BRICS, and possibly, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, as a result of Russian and Chinese diplomatic initiatives.
O’Connor reports that Iran began its formal membership ascension into SCO at the September 2021 summit, and that the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced June 27 that it will seek to join the BRICS. Further, on May 26, during his North Africa/Southwest Asia visit, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with RT Arabic, “Many countries of the Arab world are interested in establishing partner relations … to build constructive and positive (not antagonistic) alliances that are not aimed against anyone. They are gradually acquiring a global character, which is reflected in the development of the BRICS Five…. Our Saudi friends and Argentina are interested in it. Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero expressed his country’s desire to become a full member of BRICS.” China specifically invited Saudi Arabia to attend the BRICS + summit June 24 (it did not, although the Saudi Foreign Minister had attended the first-ever “BRICS+” Foreign Ministers meeting in May). Argentina’s President Alberto Fernández attended the BRICS+ summit, as one of the specially invited guests.
O’Connor states the obvious: that Iran has been harshly treated by the U.S. and the West with sanctions, and feels it is prevented from playing its rightful role in Southwest Asia, as well as the world; while Saudi Arabia is uneasy wedged into the role of simply being the U.S. ally in Southwest Asia. But beyond standard “geopolitics,” O’Connor sees a larger economic development role.
