He said discussions among economy ministers focused on expanding the use of local currencies, strengthening trade and economic ties among member states, and developing payment systems to support the stability of intra-BRICS trade and financial relations. The New Development Bank was also among the key issues on the ministers’ agenda.
At a BRICS economic meeting, Madanizadeh said trade and investment were discussed, with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian calling on member states to deepen cooperation in trade, infrastructure investment, financial-payment instruments and the development of financial infrastructure.
The minister said BRICS’ potential should be assessed from both short- and long-term perspectives.
“In the long term, BRICS will have a very key role,” Madanizadeh said, noting that countries belonging to the grouping now account for roughly half of the world’s population and about 40% of global GDP, compared with around 25% when the bloc was initially formed.
He said the shift reflected substantial growth in the economic weight of BRICS members and argued that the trend was still at an early stage. China, India and other developing economies in the grouping, he added, are among the main drivers of global economic growth.
Madanizadeh said growth rates in some BRICS economies were running at 7% to 8%, significantly above those of many non-member economies, and predicted that the bloc’s members would account for a growing share of global output in the coming years.

Payment systems and local currencies
Asked how BRICS could help reduce the impact of sanctions on Iran, Madanizadeh said deeper integration among member states could create alternative channels for trade and finance.
The integration of payment systems and financial arrangements, greater use of local currencies, and the completion of transport corridors for goods and data would gradually build infrastructure capable of supporting greater economic integration, he said.
Iran, as an active BRICS member, would benefit from those developments, Madanizadeh added.
He pointed to Iran-Russia trade as an example, saying the two sanctioned economies were already using local currencies and cryptocurrencies to facilitate bilateral commerce.
“Over the long term, we expect these mechanisms within the BRICS framework to be highly supportive,” he said.
In the short term, the minister said, BRICS could provide opportunities for bilateral and trilateral meetings and closer engagement with members beyond Iran’s immediate neighbors, helping the country mitigate the effects of US sanctions.
Madanizadeh said his recent trips had been highly positive and that their economic benefits would become visible to the public in due course. He added that businesses in various sectors were already experiencing some of the effects, but that certain measures could not be disclosed because of their confidential nature.
He described developments in the currency and financial sphere as one of the most positive areas of BRICS cooperation, saying financial and foreign-exchange openings were creating opportunities for greater use of local currencies in bilateral trade.

De-dollarization gaining ground
Madanizadeh rejected the view that BRICS leaders lacked the political will to challenge unilateralism or advance de-dollarization, arguing that the trend should be measured by economic developments rather than political declarations.
“The facts are already visible in the figures,” he said, pointing to the increase in the BRICS members’ combined share of global GDP from roughly 25% to 40% and the growing volume of trade conducted through mechanisms associated with the bloc.
He said the expansion of intra-BRICS trade would gradually increase the international role of the members’ currencies and put greater pressure on the traditional dominance of Western currencies in global transactions.
Madanizadeh acknowledged that political differences among BRICS members, including tensions between India and China and their respective relations with the United States, could complicate the bloc’s political dynamics.
He said, however, that these differences should not necessarily be interpreted as a contradiction to the expansion of economic cooperation. India and China, he added, were primarily pursuing their own national interests, while trade within the wider BRICS framework had continued to expand.
The minister also noted that Iran had previously been a major oil supplier to India before the intensification of sanctions, but that Iranian oil sales to the country had gradually declined after sanctions were imposed. He expressed hope that changing conditions would allow Iran to restore and expand that economic potential.

Iran seeks to move beyond sanctions
Madanizadeh said Iran had never sought confrontation or war and had no intention of accepting life under a permanent sanctions regime.
“We do not want to live under a sanctions regime and have no interest in doing so,” he said, adding that Iran had previously engaged in negotiations that resulted in arrangements linked to an end to the conflict and the partial lifting of sanctions, producing positive economic effects.
Madanizadeh stressed that Iran’s objective was ultimately to move beyond sanctions rather than simply adapt to them.
“As long as they impose sanctions, our duty is to break them and prevent their impact,” he said. “But removing the shadow of sanctions from the country remains one of the country’s main priorities.”