MWE Correspondent
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called on BRICS member states to accelerate the use of national currencies in international trade, arguing that greater financial diversification would help protect member economies from sanctions, political pressure and disruptions to global trade.
Speaking at the BRICS Business Forum in New Delhi on September 11, 2026, Pezeshkian said the current global economic environment was facing geopolitical uncertainty, supply-chain disruptions and increasing use of economic instruments as tools of political pressure. He argued that BRICS should move beyond discussions and establish practical systems capable of supporting trade, investment and financing among its members.
The Iranian president specifically urged BRICS countries to expand settlements in their own currencies and establish mechanisms to manage exchange-rate risks and facilitate reciprocal payments.
Pezeshkian’s proposal forms part of a broader effort within BRICS to reduce exposure to financial systems dominated by the US dollar. Rather than immediately seeking to replace the dollar as the world’s leading currency, current BRICS discussions have increasingly focused on creating additional options for trade and cross-border payments.
Pezeshkian also called for a stronger role for the New Development Bank (NDB), the BRICS-backed financial institution headquartered in Shanghai.
He proposed that the bank become a major source of financing for infrastructure and energy projects across member countries through dedicated credit lines, local-currency financing and guarantee mechanisms designed to attract private investment.
Iran has additionally proposed the creation of a joint BRICS reinsurance company with initial capital of $10 billion. The proposed institution would provide insurance coverage for major infrastructure and energy projects, potentially helping investors manage political and commercial risks associated with large cross-border projects.
Pezeshkian’s proposals reflect Iran’s long-standing push to reduce its dependence on Western financial infrastructure. Tehran has faced extensive US sanctions that have restricted its access to international banking and financial markets, making alternative payment and settlement mechanisms particularly important for Iranian trade.
The Iranian proposal comes as BRICS members are already discussing ways to make cross-border payments faster, cheaper and less dependent on conventional financial channels.
Finance ministers and central-bank governors from BRICS countries recently called for greater interoperability between national payment systems and for progress toward fast, secure and low-cost cross-border transactions.
Countries such as India and Brazil have developed large domestic instant-payment systems, including UPI and Pix, respectively. Discussions within BRICS are examining whether such systems can eventually be connected across borders to facilitate transactions using national currencies.
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The challenge is significant, however. Differences in banking regulations, currency controls, payment infrastructure and trade balances between member countries make a single integrated system difficult to implement.
Despite the growing push for de-dollarisation, the US dollar remains deeply embedded in international trade and finance.
The dollar continues to play a dominant role in global reserves, international payments, commodity trading and cross-border investment. BRICS members themselves also maintain significant dollar-based trade and financial relationships with countries outside the bloc.
For this reason, reducing the dollar’s role is likely to be a gradual process rather than an immediate shift.
Analysts have increasingly described the BRICS approach as diversification rather than outright replacement of the dollar. The practical objective is to give member states additional payment and financing options, particularly for bilateral trade.
The success of the initiative will depend heavily on the largest economies within BRICS, particularly China and India.
China has already expanded the international use of the yuan and has developed cross-border payment infrastructure that can facilitate trade without relying entirely on the dollar.
India, meanwhile, has promoted its UPI digital-payment system and has increased the use of national currencies in some bilateral trade arrangements. However, New Delhi has generally approached the idea of de-dollarisation cautiously, favouring greater payment flexibility rather than openly seeking to replace the dollar.
This creates an important distinction within BRICS. While countries such as Iran and Russia have strong strategic reasons for reducing their exposure to Western financial systems, India and other members have broader economic relationships with the United States and other Western economies.
Pezeshkian’s remarks therefore come at a time when BRICS is attempting to transform its growing economic weight into greater influence over the international financial system.
The bloc has expanded to 11 full members, bringing together major economies and commodity producers across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Its members collectively represent a substantial portion of the world’s population and economic output.
The group is also seeking greater cooperation in trade, investment, energy, digital technology and industrial production. At the BRICS Business Forum, leaders and business representatives stressed the need to move from fragmented cooperation toward integrated trade infrastructure, digitalisation and joint production networks.
For Iran, however, the issue carries an additional strategic dimension. Greater use of national currencies and alternative payment mechanisms could provide Tehran with more options for conducting international trade at a time when sanctions continue to limit its access to the Western financial system.
The broader question now facing BRICS is whether its members can turn political support for de-dollarisation into practical, scalable financial infrastructure capable of handling billions of dollars in cross-border trade.
If successful, the effort would not necessarily eliminate the dollar from global commerce, but it could gradually create a more diversified international financial system in which the United States currency faces greater competition from national currencies and alternative payment networks.
