WANA (Sep 13) – Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has stressed the link between economic resilience and sustainable security, saying that targeting a country’s economic, energy and development infrastructure can quickly produce consequences beyond its borders, with regional and global repercussions.

 

Speaking at the BRICS summit on Sunday, Pezeshkian said unilateral sanctions were no longer merely an economic issue, as they directly affect food security and people’s welfare.

 

He stressed the need to expand trade using national currencies and strengthen the New Development Bank, saying these measures could help BRICS members build shared capacity for greater economic resilience.

 

Security and Economic Resilience

Pezeshkian said recent developments in the region, particularly the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, had demonstrated that targeting a country’s infrastructure could have consequences extending beyond its borders within a short period of time.

 

The Iranian president also referred to the human and infrastructural losses caused by the attacks, saying the Iranian people had paid a heavy price, with women, men, children and civilians losing their lives. He added that infrastructure built over decades to support the country’s development had also been damaged.

 

Pezeshkian stressed the international community’s responsibility to protect civilians and said the developments underscored the need to prevent the normalization of military attacks. Referring to Gaza and Lebanon, he said people in both areas continued to face the consequences of crimes and genocide.

 

He argued that it was not possible to speak of international law without an effective international response to military aggression, the killing of civilians and the destruction of people’s lives. BRICS, he added, should play a more effective role in defending national sovereignty, territorial integrity and the prohibition of the use of force.

 

Iran’s Geopolitical and Energy Potential

Pezeshkian described cooperation as one of the key pillars of BRICS and said no country could address today’s global challenges on its own.

 

He said BRICS should turn the scattered capacities of the Global South into shared capabilities, adding that Iran’s geopolitical position and its energy and transit potential could play an important role in developing trade and energy routes among BRICS members.

 

The Iranian president also identified sustainability as another key pillar of cooperation, saying development that increases inequality or shifts today’s costs onto future generations cannot be considered sustainable.

 

Referring to the environmental consequences of war, Pezeshkian said warfare was a major driver of environmental destruction and that damage to energy and industrial infrastructure could affect not only economies but also the region’s natural resources.

 

AI Must Not Become a Tool of Dominance

Pezeshkian also highlighted knowledge and innovation as decisive factors in BRICS cooperation, saying the group should ensure that artificial intelligence and emerging technologies do not become tools of domination, but instead serve to empower nations.

 

He said BRICS was no longer merely a framework for cooperation among several emerging economies, but had become a reflection of growing demand for a more balanced and inclusive world in which no center of power could determine the fate of others.

 

Pezeshkian said Iran was ready to contribute its capabilities to BRICS cooperation and concluded by stressing that resilience cannot endure without sustained cooperation, cooperation cannot endure without justice, and sustainability is impossible without peace and security.

 

He called for these principles to be translated into practical action within BRICS so that growth, security and development could become possible for all countries and future generations.