The Growing Influence of BRICS: Changing the Game from Iranian Sanctions to Moldova's Pivot — and What It Means for Business?

The European "troika" (the UK, France, and Germany) has activated the "snapback" mechanism to reinstate UN Security Council sanctions against Iran. The Security Council has met resistance from Russia and China regarding this initiative. However, due to procedural peculiarities, Western countries are prepared to declare the restrictions restored within the next week, as Mahmoud Shouri, Deputy Director of IRAS, shared in an interview with "Kommersant".

Against this backdrop, in Eastern Europe, the Moldovan opposition has publicly announced a potential shift in its foreign economic course — returning to the CIS and EAEU and seeking observer status at BRICS and the SCO, signaling the growing appeal of alternative integration centers.

How did the key participants – Iran, the permanent members of the UN Security Council, and the Moldovan opposition – react?

The direct impact on Iran's economy, according to the Iranian side, will be limited. However, the psychological and symbolic costs will increase, including inflationary expectations and market distrust. Meanwhile, Russia and China in the UN consider the procedure undertaken to be illegal. These points were highlighted by Mahmoud Shouri, who added that "strategic ambiguity" might be Tehran's response to growing pressure, and its format of interaction with the IAEA now depends on European actions and will be built in stages with enhanced protection of confidential data.

In Moldova, socialist leader Igor Dodon stated his intention, should the opposition win the elections, to bring the country back into the CIS and EAEU and pursue observer status in BRICS and the SCO, as reported by RT na russkom.

"We will definitely try to obtain observer status in such new and interesting integration processes as BRICS, SCO, possibly... We will definitely use all these opportunities."

What systemic shifts are these events leading to?

The key trend is the acceleration of institutionalizing alternatives to the West-centric architecture and the growing role of BRICS as a platform for sanctions resilience. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has proposed creating a common mechanism within BRICS to counter sanctions, including a common payment infrastructure, an alternative financial messaging system, expanded national currency settlements, and a liquidity reserve fund, as reported by Mahmoud Shouri.

Concurrently, there is a growing sense of the inadequacy of old institutions for the new distribution of power: the 80-year-old UN is criticized for not reflecting the real balance of influence, as noted by Expert.ru.

The shift is not limited to "high politics": climate and environmental cooperation among BRICS countries is materializing on practical platforms. The international forest and climate forum "Baikal Ecosystem 2025" has commenced in the Irkutsk region with the participation of BRICS country delegations. Over 300 participants are planting trees in affected areas and discussing "green" projects for Lake Baikal, as reported by TK "Gorod".

What tactical risks and opportunities are opening up for companies from BRICS+ countries?

The main practical effects include the fragmentation of compliance regimes, the acceleration of the transition to parallel payment circuits, and the emergence of "low-threshold" ESG platforms for pilot projects.

• Sanctions Asymmetry: Western states may consider UN restrictions "resurrected," while Russia and China do not. This increases legal and operational risks in transactions with Iran (counterparties, insurance, logistics), as well as price volatility due to psychological effects – these consequences are described in the IRAS interview for "Kommersant".
• Payment Transformation: The BRICS proposal for a unified payment infrastructure, alternative messaging, and national currency settlements creates an opportunity for testing multilateral payment and hedging schemes within BRICS. Companies can prepare KYC/AML procedures and treasury policies for such channels.
• Regional Pivots: In Moldova, a vector towards the CIS/EAEU and observer status at BRICS/SCO has been declared. For exporters and investors, this is a signal to monitor regulatory and tariff changes in case of a political course shift.
• Green Alliances: Forums like "Baikal Ecosystem 2025" unite government, business, and science for climate projects and reforestation. These are platforms for ESG partnerships, localization of green technologies, and social investments with rapid deployment.

Conclusion: Sanctions dynamics around Iran and political signals from Moldova complement the picture — BRICS is accelerating the construction of parallel infrastructure, and businesses in BRICS+ should now benefit from diversifying payment channels, revising compliance procedures, and utilizing new regional and ESG platforms for growth.