With reporting from Cairo, Buenos Aires, New York, Jakarta and Johannesburg

The five-nation group of emerging economies known as BRICS, which views itself as a counterweight to the West, has invited six more countries to join — most of them from the Middle East — during its summit in Johannesburg this week.

The choices by the current members, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, contained a few surprises, the biggest being the addition of Iran, which joined three other Middle Eastern states: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. Argentina and Ethiopia rounded out the half-dozen nations tapped for inclusion while Indonesia, which was thought to be among the top candidates for admission, did not make the cut.

The expansion was a victory for China’s leader, Xi Jinping, who strongly backed the rapid addition of new members. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India was said to be concerned about adding nations close to Beijing; India and China have border disputes and tend to consider each other potential adversaries.

Here is a look at some of the new BRICS members.

Iran

Iran, which holds the world’s second-largest gas reserves and a quarter of the oil reserves in the Middle East, sought membership in BRICS to strengthen its economic and political ties with non-Western powers.

Its admission to the bloc was seen as a sign that Russia and China had effectively advocated for its inclusion, bolstering the anti-Western bent of BRICS. For the past few years, Iran has forged a deepening security and military partnership with Russia and bolstered its economic ties to China. The invitation to join BRICS was viewed by many as a reward.

Iran’s addition will almost undoubtedly increase geopolitical tensions with the West, which could make other current members of the bloc, like India, uncomfortable.

Iran’s economy, ranked the 22nd-largest in the world in 2022, has been plagued by inflation, slow growth and economic sanctions from the United States. But the country has stayed afloat by selling discounted oil to China, among other maneuvers. It has also diversified its economy away from oil and increased trade with BRICS members.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/23/world/asia/brics-nations-new-members-expansion.html