Iran on Monday said the 17th BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro had delivered a “strong and unequivocal” condemnation of recent Israeli and U.S. airstrikes on its territory. Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi, attending the meeting as Iran’s first representative since the country became a full member of the bloc, thanked fellow participants for denouncing attacks that Tehran says targeted civilian infrastructure and nuclear facilities. The language appears in the ‘Rio de Janeiro Declaration’, which states that deliberate strikes on infrastructure and nuclear sites under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards violate international law and the United Nations Charter. While the communiqué does not explicitly name Israel or the United States, Araghchi said the wording amounted to a direct rebuke from countries that collectively account for roughly 40% of global GDP and nearly half the world’s population. Tehran argues the airstrikes, carried out during a 12-day conflict that began on 13 June, were aimed at undermining its civilian nuclear programme. Bolstered by the BRICS statement, Iranian officials say they will press for investigations at the U.N. Security Council and seek further backing from the IAEA. The episode underscores how Iran’s recent admission to the expanded BRICS grouping is providing the country with an additional diplomatic platform as tensions with Washington and Jerusalem persist.