Iran’s BRICS bank bid under review, chamber official says
Iran’s application to join the New Development Bank of the BRICS group, submitted about two years ago, remains under review, a Tehran Chamber of Commerce official said, with sanctions and financial transparency requirements potentially complicating the process.
Hessameddin Hallaj, the chamber’s deputy for international affairs, told Tasnim News Agency that Iran filed its formal application after joining BRICS and assessing the development bank’s capabilities.
Iran, long subject to US sanctions, has pivoted toward non-Western blocs in recent years. It became a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in July 2023, joined BRICS on Jan. 1, 2024, and implemented a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union on May 15, 2025.
Hallaj said it remained unclear how sanctions-related obstacles and financial transparency requirements would affect Iran’s bid.
He pointed to secondary sanctions as a key challenge to cooperation with the New Development Bank, which works with a range of international lenders, and said Tehran should pursue local currency settlement more seriously in trade with BRICS members.
Hallaj also called for new financial mechanisms, including joint currency-exchange platforms among BRICS members, saying they were particularly important given the banking difficulties some members face. He said Russia’s experience using the bank’s capacity despite banking sanctions could offer lessons for Iran.
Iran and Russia put into force a currency agreement in January 2025, allowing trade settlement in rial and ruble at agreed exchange rates. Russia’s Mir card network was connected to Iran’s SHETAB banking network in November 2024, with the first two phases of the payment system completed.
According to the New Development Bank, Iran is not among its current members. The latest BRICS summit declaration in New Delhi stressed support for expanding the bank’s membership and accelerating the review of applications from prospective members.