Everyone wants to hitch a ride on the BRICS Express.

Let's begin with what is in fact a tale about trade in the Global South between two members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). At its core is the now notorious Shahed-136 drone – or Geranium-2, in its Russian designation: the AK-47 of postmodern air warfare. 

The United States, in yet another characteristic hysterical attack overflowing with irony, accused Tehran of arming the Russian Armed Forces. For both Tehran and Moscow, the superstar drone, a cost-effective and terribly efficient device used on the Ukrainian battlefield, is a state secret: its use has triggered a storm of denials from both sides. If these drones are... Made in IranWhether the project was purchased and manufacturing takes place in Russia (the most realistic option) is of no importance whatsoever.

Records show that the United States is arming Ukraine to the hilt against Russia. The Empire, in fact, is a combatant in the war, through a bunch of "consultants," advisors, trainers, mercenaries, heavy weaponry, ammunition, satellite intelligence, and electronic warfare. And yet, imperial officials swear they are not participating in the war. They are lying again.

Welcome to yet another explicit example of the "rules-based world order" in operation. It is always the Hegemon who decides which rules to apply, and when. Anyone who opposes him is an enemy of "freedom" and "democracy," or any other cliché, and must be—what else?—punished with arbitrary sanctions. 

In the case of Iran, which has been sanctioned to the point of exhaustion for decades, the result was, as expected, another round of sanctions. Which is irrelevant. What matters is that, according to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, no fewer than 22 countries – a list that is growing – are  queuing to catch the Shahed tram.

Even the leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, gleefully joined in, commenting that Shahed-136 doesn't need Photoshop.

The race towards BRICS+

What the new package of sanctions against Iran really "achieved" was to deliver yet another blow to the increasingly problematic signing of the revived nuclear agreement in Vienna. More Iranian oil on the market would, in fact, be a relief for Washington's difficulties after the recent and epic snub by OPEC+.

However, a categorical imperative persists. Iranophobia – just like Russophobia – always speaks louder to the Straussian-neoconservative war advocates who control American foreign policy and to their European vassals.

So here we have yet another hostile escalation in Iran's relations with both the United States and the European Union, as the unelected junta in Brussels has also sanctioned three Iranian generals. 

Compare this to the fate of the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drone – which, unlike the "flowers in the sky" (the Russian geraniums), showed terrible performance on the battlefield.

Kyiv tried to convince the Turks to use a Motor Sich arms factory in Ukraine or to open a new company in Transcarpathia/Lviv to build Bayraktars. The 84-year-old oligarch and chairman of Motor Sich, Vyacheslav Boguslayev, has been accused of treason for his links to Russia and may be exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners of war.

In the end, the negotiation failed due to the exceptional enthusiasm shown by Ankara in working towards the construction of a new gas production center in Türkiye – a personal suggestion from Russian President Vladimir Putin to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

This brings us to the ever-increasing interconnection between the BRICS and the nine members of the SCO – to which this Russian-Iranian military trade body is inextricably linked.

The SCO, led by China and Russia, is a pan-Eurasian institution whose original focus was combating terrorism, but which is now increasingly turning to geoeconomic – and geopolitical – cooperation. The BRICS, led by the triad of Russia, India, and China, overlap with the SCO agenda in geoeconomic and geopolitical terms, expanding this agenda to Africa, Latin America, and beyond: this is the concept of BRICS+, analyzed in detail in a recent study. Valdai Club report , and fully embraced by the Russia-China strategic partnership.

The report weighs the pros and cons of three scenarios related to potential BRICS+ candidates in the near future:

First, the countries that were invited by Beijing to be part of the 2017 BRICS summit (Egypt, Kenya, Mexico, Thailand, Tajikistan).

Secondly, the countries that participated in the BRICS foreign ministers' meeting in May of this year (Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Thailand).

Third, the major economies of the G20 (Argentina, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye).

And there's also Iran, which already showed interest in joining BRICS.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa recently confirmed that "several countries" are eager to join BRICS. Among them is a very important player from West Asia: Saudi Arabia.

What is even more surprising is that, just three years ago, under the administration of former US President Donald Trump, Prince Muhammad bin Salman (MbS) – the country's true ruler – was determined to join a sort of...  Arab NATO, as a privileged ally of the Empire.

Diplomatic sources confirm that the day after the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, MbS's envoys began serious negotiations with Moscow and Beijing. 

Assuming that the BRICS reach the necessary consensus to approve Riyadh's candidacy in 2023, one can hardly imagine the devastating consequences of this decision for the petrodollar. At the same time, it is important not to underestimate the capacity of those in control to create chaos.   

The only reason Washington tolerates the Riyadh regime is the petrodollar. The Saudis cannot be allowed to pursue an independent and truly sovereign foreign policy. If that happens, the geopolitical realignment will affect not only Saudi Arabia but the entire Persian Gulf.

But this is becoming increasingly likely, after OPEC+ has in fact chosen the BRICS/SCO path led by Russia and China – which can be interpreted as a soft preamble to the end of the petrodollar. 

The Riyadh-Tehran-Ankara triad 

Iran has expressed interest in joining BRICS even before Saudi Arabia. According to diplomatic sources in the Persian Gulf, they are already engaged in a somewhat confidential channel, mediated by Iraq, in an attempt to organize themselves for this. Turkey will follow – certainly into BRICS, and possibly into the SCO, where Ankara currently holds observer status with considerable interest.

Now, imagine this triad – Riyadh, Tehran, Ankara – closely linked to Russia, India, and China (the true core of BRICS), and in the future within the SCO, where Iran is, so far, the only West Asian country accepted as a full member.  

The strategic blow dealt against the Empire broke all records. The discussions leading up to BRICS+ focus on the challenging path towards a global commodity-backed currency capable of surpassing the dollar's primacy.

Several interconnected steps point to an ever-greater symbiosis between BRICS+ and the SCO. The latter's member states have already reached an agreement on a roadmap for the gradual increase of trade in national currencies based on mutual agreements. 

The State Bank of India – the country's largest lender – has been opening special rupee accounts for trade related to Russia. 

Russian natural gas shipped to Türkiye will be paid for 25% in Turkish lira, with a 25% discount that Erdogan personally requested from Putin.

The Russian bank VTB launched transfers to China in yuan, bypassing SWIFT, while Sberbank began lending money in the Chinese currency. The Russian energy giant Gazprom agreed with China that payments for gas supplies should switch to rubles and yuan, split equally. 

Iran and Russia are unifying their banking systems to conduct trade in rubles/rials.

The Central Bank of Egypt is taking steps to establish an index for the Egyptian pound – using a range of currencies and gold – with the aim of... To move the national currency away from the dollar..

And then there's the TurkStream saga.

The gift from the gas center 

Ankara has been trying for years to position itself as a privileged East-West gas hub. After the Nord Streams sabotagePutin handed Turkey the opportunity to increase gas supplies to the European Union using this hub. The Turkish Ministry of Energy stated that Ankara and Moscow have, in principle, already reached an agreement.

In practice, this means that Turkey will control the flow of gas not only from Russia, but also from Azerbaijan and much of West Asia, perhaps even including Iran and Libya in northeast Africa. LNG terminals in Egypt, Greece, and Turkey itself will complete the network.

Russian gas is transported through the TurkStream and Blue Stream pipelines. The total capacity of the Russian pipelines is 39 billion cubic meters per year.

TurkStream was initially designed as a four-line pipeline with a nominal capacity of 63 billion cubic meters per year. Under current circumstances, only two lines – with a total capacity of 31,5 billion cubic meters – have been built.

Therefore, an extension is theoretically more feasible – with all the equipment manufactured in Russia. The problem, once again, is the installation of the pipelines. The ships to be used belong to the Allseas Group – and Switzerland is part of the sanctions madness. In the Baltic Sea, Russian vessels were used to complete the construction of Nord Stream 2. But, for an extension of TurkStream, it would be necessary to operate at a much greater ocean depth. 

TurkStream would not be able to completely replace Nord Stream, as it handles much smaller volumes. The good news for Russia is that it will not be excluded from the European market. It is clear that Gazprom would only undertake the significant investment required to build an extension if there were absolute guarantees regarding its safety. The disadvantage is that the extension would also transport gas from Russia's competitors.  

Whatever happens, the fact remains that the US-UK alliance still exerts a strong influence over Turkey – and BP, ExxonMobil, and Shell, for example, participate in virtually all oil extraction projects throughout West Asia. They would therefore certainly interfere in the operation of Turkish gas centers, as well as in the determination of gas prices. Moscow has to weigh all these variables before committing to the project. 

NATO, of course, will be livid with hatred. But never underestimate Sultan Erdogan, an expert at minimizing risks. His love affair with both the BRICS and the SCO is only just beginning. 

Translation by Patricia Zimbres