Pezeshkian made the remarks in an address to the 18th BRICS Plus Summit, held in New Delhi on Sunday, September 13.

He said the three concepts of resilience, cooperation and sustainability are not merely slogans but responses to three fundamental global needs at a time when the destinies of nations are more interconnected than ever.

The challenge, he added, is not only to manage current crises but also to build a system that makes nations more capable of confronting future crises and creates a fairer world.

“BRICS must be part of the world’s response to this necessity,” the Iranian president said.

Pezeshkian said resilience means having the capacity to maintain development and independent decision-making even under pressure. Excessive dependence on limited financial and trade systems, he noted, makes economies vulnerable to political shocks.

He said unilateral sanctions are no longer merely an economic issue, as they directly affect food security and people’s welfare. Therefore, BRICS should build a shared capacity for the economic resilience of its members by expanding trade in national currencies and strengthening the New Development Bank, he stressed.

“Economic resilience without security will not be sustainable,” Pezeshkian said, adding that developments in the region, particularly the US and Israeli regime’s military aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran, showed how attacks on a country’s economic, energy and development infrastructure can quickly produce consequences extending beyond its borders and affecting the region and the world.

The Iranian president said the Iranian people have paid a heavy price for the aggression, with women, men, children and civilians losing their lives and infrastructure built over decades for the country’s development being damaged.

He said the developments served as a reminder of the international community’s heavy responsibility to protect civilians and prevent the normalization of attacks on civilian targets.

Pezeshkian also said the people of Gaza and Lebanon continue to face the consequences of crimes and genocide committed by the Zionist regime. International law, he stressed, cannot be discussed if there is no effective international response to military aggression, the killing of people and the destruction of their lives.

He called on BRICS to play a more effective role in defending national sovereignty, territorial integrity and the prohibition of the use of force.

Turning to the second pillar, cooperation, Pezeshkian said no country could address today’s global challenges alone. BRICS, he added, should transform the scattered capacities of the Global South into shared capabilities.

In this regard, he said Iran’s geopolitical position as well as its energy and transit capacities could play an effective role in developing trade and energy routes among BRICS members.

On sustainability, the third pillar, Pezeshkian said development that increases inequality or places today’s costs on future generations cannot be sustainable.

He also warned that war is a major factor in environmental destruction, saying Iran’s recent experience has shown that damage to energy and industrial infrastructure has consequences extending beyond economic losses and can also affect the region’s natural resources.

Pezeshkian further described knowledge and innovation as a decisive factor, saying BRICS should ensure that artificial intelligence and new technologies do not become tools of domination but instead serve to empower nations.

He said BRICS is now more than a framework for cooperation among several emerging economies, describing it as a sign of growing demand for a more balanced and inclusive world “in which no center of power has the right to determine the fate of others.”

Pezeshkian said Iran is ready to place its capacities at the disposal of BRICS cooperation.

“Resilience does not endure without cooperation, cooperation is not sustainable without justice, and sustainability is not possible without peace and security,” he said.

He called for BRICS to become a platform for turning these principles into practical action, saying a future in which growth, security and development are possible for all is not only achievable but also a shared responsibility toward future generations.