New Delhi: Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian held a meeting with prominent Indian religious leaders, intellectuals, and business executives at an event held at the Oberoi Hotel in New Delhi after praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
This gathering served as a core platform for Iran’s cultural outreach and people-to-people diplomacy in India, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit 2026.
All Parties Hurriyat Conference president Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was among those who attended the meeting and delivered a strong appeal for peace, diplomacy, and justice. Kashmir’s Shia clerics Aga Syed Hassan Mosavi Al Safavi, Imran Reza Ansari, Jain guru and interfaith leader Acharya Lokesh Muni were among the others present, as reported by WION.
Mirwaiz’s presence is of particular importance as Kashmir has often been the subject of tensions between India and Iran. In 2019, after India revoked Article 370, then supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had publicly expressed concern over the situation of Muslims in the region. India had then issued a sharp response.
Khamenei had also commented on the Northeast Delhi riots in 2020, and in 2024, referred to Muslims in India alongside those in Gaza, saying: “We cannot consider ourselves to be Muslims if we are oblivious to the suffering that a Muslim is enduring in #Myanmar, #Gaza, #India, or any other place.” On every occasions, India has issued sharp responses but overall India and Iran maintained balanced bilateral relations.
After the meeting, Mirwaiz, while speaking to ANI, highlighted the critical need for global stability, saying: “The most significant message must be one of peace. Peace can only be established when there is justice. What is happening in Iran today is absolutely wrong – specifically, the way America has imposed a war upon them. Furthermore, the events unfolding in Palestine and Lebanon are creating a chaotic situation globally that needs to be resolved.”
Speaking in line with PM Modi’s message, he said: “We feel that the present era is one for dialogue and diplomacy, not for war. Therefore, everyone who believes in human values must emphasise that the time has come to end wars and embrace peace and dialogue; this is the only way to resolve the catastrophic situation that has arisen on a global scale.”
Mirwaiz also attended an exhibition commemorating the children killed in Minab.
“All eyes are on India. During the BRICS summit taking place here, I extended an invitation to the president of Iran, proposing that we hold a first-of-its-kind peace summit in Iran,” Acharya Lokesh Muni said.
“This is because we, as religious leaders, believe that war, violence, and terror are not solutions to any problem; every issue can be resolved through discussion, dialogue, and the pursuit of peace… That is why I invited the president of Iran, and it gives me immense joy to say that he graciously accepted the invitation. Very soon, we-religious leaders together with peace-loving forces from across the globe-will gather on a single platform. We will strive to bring peace to the world through dialogue and discussion,” he added.
Haji Syed Salman Chishty, Gaddi Nashin of the Ajmer Sharif Dargah, reaffirmed India’s commitment to global harmony, justice, and universal brotherhood on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.
“Today, as part of the BRICS Summit, all the spiritual leaders across India are here, and the message has always been there from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, for centuries after centuries, that love for everyone, and hatred for no one,” he said.
Meanwhile, PM Modi, during his meeting with Pezeshkian continued the discussions from their meeting on the sidelines of SCO Summit in Bishkek. The Prime Minister reiterated India’s call for conflicts to be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. He emphasized the importance of freedom of navigation and commerce and ensuring safety and wellbeing of seafarers.
While addressing the BRICS Business Forum, the Iranian president praised India’s efforts to strengthen cooperation among member nations.
He thanked India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making “valuable efforts” to strengthen cooperation amongst the members of the grouping.
“I would like to sincerely thank the friendly government and people of India for the graciously hosting of this meeting, as well as the Honourable Prime Minister of India for his valuable efforts to strengthen BRICS cooperation,” Pezeshkian stated.
The Iranian president, while speaking on the West Asia war, said that economic security remains inseparable from national and regional security.
“Economic security is inseparable from national and regional security, and whenever a country’s trade, energy, infrastructure, or financial system is under political-military pressure, its effects will go beyond that country’s borders,” Pezeshkian was quoted as saying at the event by Iran’s leading Mehr news agency.
“Disruptions in supply chains and the increasing use of economic tools to exert political pressure have made the economic environment of countries more complex. The question is, what is the BRICS response to these problems?” he added.
Tehran believes that the true power of BRICS is not limited to the economic size of its members, but becomes more evident when these capacities are transformed into a network of joint trade, investment, and financing – transition from potential cooperation to operational cooperation, the Iranian president said.
