NSA Doval welcomes US-Iran MoU, says Hormuz reopening to ease supply bottlenecks

New Delhi: National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Tuesday welcomed the memorandum of understanding reached between the United States and Iran, calling it a development that could ease energy security concerns and improve regional trade, while addressing the 16th BRICS National Security Advisers’ Meeting in New Delhi.

The two-day meeting, chaired by NSA Doval, brought together security chiefs from the bloc’s 11 member countries – India, Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the UAE.

Speaking to delegates from BRICS member nations, Doval said India holds “cautious optimism” over the US-Iran MoU. He noted that reopening the Strait of Hormuz would remove supply chain bottlenecks, ease shortages in fertilizers and chemicals, and expand freedom of navigation, boosting economic prosperity in the region and beyond.

The NSA also flagged a widening set of non-traditional security threats that he said have outpaced conventional response mechanisms, pointing to disruptive technologies, disguised forms of terrorism, and cyber threats intensified by rapid digitisation worldwide.

Doval added, “We are here from different continents, from different areas, and it’s a grouping where we bring with us very diverse experiences. We have got a very special role to play in this world, which appears to be in turmoil, a world which appears to be changing, a world in which the instruments of conflict resolution are probably getting blunted. What role we as a grouping can play is a matter that is important for us to ponder.”

The two-day meeting, chaired by Doval and running June 22-23 in New Delhi, was attended by senior officials from BRICS member countries, including Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu, and Iran’s Deputy Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ghadir Nezamipour. It is being held under the theme “Non-traditional security challenges confronting the world today.”

On the sidelines, Doval held bilateral talks with Wang Yi, with both sides reviewing bilateral relations and progress towards normalisation, the Ministry of External Affairs said. Following the meeting, Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong said on X that Wang Yi had called for China and India, as the world’s two most populous economies, to view bilateral relations from a long-term perspective and advance cooperation with a global outlook.

Wang Yi urged both countries to speed up the revival of dialogue channels and broaden engagement on trade, finance and related areas, according to a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry released early Tuesday.

He also called on India and China to respect each other’s core interests, manage sensitive matters carefully, and keep the boundary dispute from overshadowing the broader bilateral relationship, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement.

The agenda of the BRICS NSA meet also covers the evolving nature of security threats and the role of emerging technologies, along with a review of outcomes from recent BRICS Joint Working Group meetings on counter-terrorism and ICT security.

The meeting comes as India holds the BRICS Chairship for 2026, its fourth time in the role after previously chairing the grouping in 2012, 2016 and 2021. Doval also held separate bilateral talks with counterparts from South Africa, Brazil and Ethiopia. The NSA meeting precedes the BRICS Summit India is set to host later this year.