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The latest edition of the broadcast covers major global diplomatic developments amid rising geopolitical tensions. Prime Minister Modi, who was in the United Arab Emirates on a brief visit on the first leg of his five-nation tour, condemned the attacks on the UAE and said dialogue and diplomacy are the only solution to the West Asia crisis.
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00:21hello and welcome to special edition of stagecraft this evening where i'm reporting from central
00:27delhi because of the brics foreign ministers meeting what happens when the world enters
00:32diplomacy season but nobody trusts each other what happens when leaders shake hands in public
00:40but rivalries grow stronger behind closed doors tonight four stories prime minister narendra
00:47modi's visit to the uae brics foreign ministers meeting in new delhi president trump's visit to
00:53china and saudi arabia's reported proposal of a non-aggression pact with iran its diplomacy
01:00season in the world where global leaders are meeting each other prime minister narendra modi
01:05embarked upon a very crucial visit to the uae this even as brics foreign ministers meeting was taking
01:11place in new delhi where the representatives of iran and uae had quite a spat it also comes at a
01:18crucial time amid a ceasefire that's holding very very delicately and there could be an imminent
01:25conflict that could restart in the region and in all that amidst all that president trump
01:31visited china here is a report
01:37dialogue and diplomacy is the mantra for peace and stability in the west asian region
01:44this was the message of prime minister narendra modi in uae as he begins his five-nation tour
01:52amid a fragile ceasefire in the west asia war and after uae's exit from the opec
01:58modi stopped over for a brief visit to abu dabi where he was welcomed by the president
02:03sheikh mohammad bin zayed al nahain
02:08condemning the attacks on uae prime minister narendra modi said dialogue and diplomacy is the
02:14only solution to the crisis he added that india stood shoulder to shoulder with uae
02:19while emphasizing that the state of hormones should be free open and safe the uae has been
02:25one of the main targets of iranian missile attacks ever since the start of the war iran has accused
02:31uae of providing safe space to american military bases facilities and personal
02:38that is
02:41the
02:44or diplomacy
02:46of
02:46the
02:47the
02:47the
02:49the
02:49the
02:49the
02:51the
02:53the
03:19The Prime Minister also thanked the UAE President for taking care of Indian
03:23citizens residing in the country.
03:46The stop was less than three hours during which both countries agreed on a framework for
03:52the Strategic Defence Partnership and signed Pacts on Strategic Defence Cooperation, Petroleum
03:57Reserves and supply of liquefied petroleum gas.
04:28The visit also comes at a time when the visit comes at a time when it comes at a time
04:30when
04:30India is hosting two-day BRICS foreign ministers meeting.
04:34Iranian Foreign Minister Sayyad Abbas Arashi, who is in India attending the meeting, had
04:39earlier met Prime Minister Modi.
04:43Sources say that last year the UAE was the fourth largest source of crude oil, which met nearly
04:4811% of our requirements.
04:51It is also the largest source of LPG for India, meeting nearly 40% of the requirement.
04:58The UAE has been the first country to partner with India in our Strategic Petroleum Reserves.
05:03The Prime Minister's next stop is Netherlands, followed by Sweden, Norway and Italy.
05:17The BRICS foreign minister's meeting being held in New Delhi, which is the chair of BRICS this
05:23year, shows clear divisions within the bloc.
05:27This comes at a time when the UAE and Iran had spat within various sessions here in New Delhi.
05:36And Sergey Lavrov made it very clear that India could play a pivotal role to bringing about
05:42peace in the region as also globally.
05:45Can that really happen at a time when countries are choosing sides and blocs are not being able
05:52to deliver?
05:52However, I say this because at the end of the BRICS foreign minister's meeting, they
05:57could not conclude with a joint statement.
05:59They have released a presidency statement of the chair, which is India.
06:12India just hosted one of the most important BRICS meetings of 2026.
06:16But instead of unity, the summit exposed a hard truth.
06:20BRICS is one of the most powerful global bloc.
06:23But can it even agree on the biggest crisis in the world right now?
06:28There was no joint statement from the BRICS foreign minister's meeting.
06:31Why?
06:32Several reports suggest it is because the members could not agree on West Asia crisis.
06:38That matters.
06:39A joint statement means one voice, one position, one message to the world.
06:44A chair's statement signals disagreement in the bloc.
06:47And who issued that chair's statement?
06:50India.
06:51Why is that important?
06:52Because India now sits at the center of a massive diplomatic balancing act.
06:57Listen to what Lavrov said.
06:59He praised Pakistan's role in helping establish dialogue between Iran and the United States.
07:04But then he went further.
07:06He openly said India could play a long-term mediator role between Iran and the Arab world because
07:12of India's vast diplomatic experience.
07:15India.
07:15Other countries are trying to instill this aggression, to instill this hostility in these relations.
07:21And I believe that this hostility, this aggression against Iran was motivated, among other things,
07:28to antagonize Iran and its Arab neighbors to instill more hostility in their relations.
07:36And we are trying to act with the opposite goal in mind.
07:39And you can see that Pakistan is helping establish dialogue between Iran and the United States to resolve the urgent
07:49problems, to resolve the existing crisis.
07:56And if we speak long-term mediator between Iran and its Arab friends, well, this role could
08:04be played by India considering its vast diplomatic experience and authority and clout.
08:11That is not a casual remark.
08:13That is Russia publicly backing India as a stabilizing force in West Asia.
08:17India.
08:17But here's the real question.
08:19Why does everyone suddenly talk about mediation?
08:23Because the region stands dangerously close to another war.
08:26Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, did not hide that reality.
08:31He said the Pakistan-mediated process with the US has not failed, but it sits in a very difficult
08:37position because of the attitude of the United States.
08:41Well, the mediation process by Pakistan has not been failed yet, but it is in a very difficult
08:48course, mostly because of the American's behavior and the mistrust which exists between us.
08:56We appreciate any country who has the ability to help, particularly China.
09:04China has been helpful in the past in the resumption of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
09:11We have very good relations with China.
09:13They are, we are strategic partners to each other.
09:18And we know that Chinese have a good intention.
09:23So anything that can be done by them to help diplomacy would be welcomed by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
09:34So diplomacy survives, but barely.
09:37Araqchi also sent another major signal.
09:39He welcomed constructive roles from China and said India can certainly play a wider role
09:45in the region for building peace.
09:47I think India, with its good reputation, can play a greater role in this region to help diplomacy,
09:59to help peace and to promote peace and security.
10:04India is a friend to almost, to all countries in the Persian Gulf, in north of this Gulf and in
10:15the southern part of that.
10:16So we appreciate any positive constructive role played by India in this region.
10:22Think about that carefully.
10:25Iran mentioned China as a strategic partner, but it mentioned India as a trusted friend with regional credibility.
10:32That tells you something about India's position in global diplomacy today.
10:37But did Iran sound optimistic?
10:39Not fully.
10:40Araqchi warned that the possibility of renewed conflict and even full-scale war cannot be ignored.
10:46He said Iran gives diplomacy a chance, but also stands prepared for war if conflict gets imposed again.
10:54This is not diplomatic theatre.
10:56This is warning.
10:57And right in the middle of this tension came the BRICS meeting in New Delhi.
11:01India hosted foreign ministers, partner countries and top diplomats under its 2026 BRICS leadership.
11:08The agenda looked ambitious.
11:10Global governance reform, resilience, innovation, cooperation, sustainability.
11:16But one issue overshadowed everything else, West Asia.
11:20And the division became impossible to hide.
11:22Some BRICS members wanted one kind of language, others refused.
11:26Some countries sat too close to the conflict itself.
11:29Consensus collapsed.
11:31So India did what it could.
11:32It kept the meeting functional.
11:34It preserved the process.
11:36It issued a chair statement instead of allowing the summit to completely derail.
11:41That is the real story here.
11:44Not total unity, not total failure either.
11:47Instead, India tried to hold together a deeply divided block during one of the most volatile geopolitical moments in years.
11:53And that raises another question.
11:56What does this say about BRICS itself?
11:59Simple.
11:59BRICS has economic weight.
12:01It has political ambition.
12:03But when a real security crisis explodes, internal contradictions immediately surface.
12:09The block talks about reshaping global power.
12:11But on the West Asia crisis, it could not even produce one common sentence.
12:16Still, India walked away with something important.
12:19Not dominance, not victory.
12:21Credibility.
12:23Russia publicly floated India as a mediator.
12:26Iran publicly welcomed a larger Indian role.
12:29And even during this agreement, India managed to keep BRICS moving forward under its chairship.
12:35This is not a small development.
12:37Because in a fractured world, sometimes the country that keeps dialogue alive becomes the most important player in the room.
12:45With Rishika Radha, Bureau Report, India Today Global.
12:51Was President Trump's visit to China diplomacy or controlled confrontation in real time?
12:58I say this because American secret service agents and journalists were kept aside in a dark room and not allowed
13:07to enter the main event.
13:08American secret service agents primarily because they had weapons.
13:13On the other hand, American officials, the top diplomats and ministers, cabinet ranking, carried burner phones to China for fear
13:22of surveillance and did not carry their own original gadgets.
13:26That's the atmosphere and environment in which diplomacy was conducted between US and China in Beijing.
13:52Beijing, high security, high tension and a visit meant for diplomacy turning into a live demonstration of mistrust between two
14:01superpowers.
14:02Donald Trump was in China for a closely watched state summit with President Xi Jinping.
14:09But behind the polished optics, a very different story unfolded.
14:13One of digital lockdowns, armed standoffs and a tightly controlled movement.
14:19According to reports, Trump and senior members of his delegation entered China without their personal cell phones.
14:25Instead, they were issued restricted clean devices, temporary laptops and controlled communication systems designed specifically for high-risk environments.
14:36The logic is blunt.
14:38US officials consider China one of the most aggressive cyber surveillance environments in the world.
14:44So everything changes.
14:45No standard encrypted messaging apps, no synced personal device, no direct cloud access.
14:52Even communication between officials is routed through monitored systems, temporary accounts or in-person relays.
14:59Officials are warned against using unfamiliar charging ports over fears of juice-jacking, where data can be stolen through compromised
15:07power connections.
15:08So travelers rely on US-issued chargers and external battery packs.
15:13Beijing, for its part, rejects these claims, insisting it follows strict data privacy laws and does not require unlawful data
15:22collection.
15:22But for Washington, the protocol is already decided.
15:26Assume everything is monitored.
15:28If the digital restrictions showed invisible tension, what happened in Beijing's historic Temple of Heaven made it visible.
15:36During Trump's visit to the 15th century site alongside President Xi Jinping, an incident involving the US Secret Service and
15:45American journalists escalated into a half-hour standoff with Chinese security officials.
15:50An armed security service agent accompanying the press pool was refused entry into the temple compound.
15:57Chinese security officials would not allow a firearm inside the historic site.
16:02What followed was not a brief misunderstanding.
16:05It was an increasingly tense negotiation between US and Chinese security teams, lasting nearly 30 minutes.
16:12The entry of journalists and the staff was delayed.
16:16Eventually, access was resolved.
16:18Do you understand that we are in the motorcade with the President?
16:21Shoemaker to T's, so we are still in the office.
16:26So the...
16:26No, no, no, no, no.
16:27The main concern now is that the security of our side do not allow you...
16:32What time is that finally?
16:32We leave the security.
16:33They are literally waiting us out.
16:36We gotta go, guys.
16:37We gotta move.
16:38We gotta go, guys.
16:39We gotta go.
16:40We gotta go.
16:41We gotta go.
16:42We gotta go.
16:43We gotta go.
16:43We gotta go.
16:44We gotta move.
16:45We gotta go.
16:49Let's go.
16:51We have to go.
16:53We have to go.
16:53We have to go.
16:54We are going.
16:55Unbelievable.
16:56US press, we are going.
16:58We are going.
17:00We are going.
17:00We are going.
17:01We are going.
17:02Rachel, make sure you're in this.
17:04Go.
17:08Be gentle, but we are going.
17:10Don't run over anybody.
17:11Do not do what they did to us.
17:16Which one?
17:17This was supposed to be a diplomatic visit focused on high-level talks between two global powers.
17:23Instead, it is becoming a case study in something more fundamental.
17:27In a world of cyber fears, controlled information and hardened security doctrines, even diplomacy itself is now conducted under suspicion.
17:37And in Beijing, this week, that suspicion is not visible.
17:41It is operational.
17:43With the deceased Kanchalal, Bureau Report, India Today Global.
17:48Saudi Arabia is reportedly proposing a non-aggression pact with Iran, including with other regional partners, to avoid yet another
17:58conflict in West Asia, or what they call Middle East.
18:01The conflict modelled on the 1975 Helsinki Accords.
18:06This could very well be a pact that could end the war or conflict and also ensure and assure that
18:15future conflicts between Iran and West Asia does not really take place.
18:20This clearly shows lesser dependence on the United States of America.
18:31Saudi Arabia may be trying something extraordinary in West Asia, a Cold War-style peace framework designed to prevent another
18:39regional war with Iran.
18:40And if reports are accurate, this could become one of the biggest diplomatic shifts in West Asia in decades.
18:46According to a Financial Times report, Riyadh is floating the idea of a regional non-aggression pact involving Iran and
18:54other West Asian states.
18:55The model?
18:56The model?
18:57The famous 1975 Helsinki Accords.
18:59The agreement that helped reduce tensions between the Soviet Union and the West during the Cold War.
19:05Back then, the Helsinki framework didn't end rivalry between Moscow and Washington, but it created rules, communication channels, and confidence
19:13-building measures.
19:14That stopped Europe from spiraling into direct conflict.
19:18Saudi Arabia now appears to want something similar for the Gulf.
19:22Why now?
19:23Because the recent US-Israel-Iran conflict has fundamentally changed the regional security picture.
19:28Saudi Arabia and several Gulf states reportedly opposed military strikes on Iran from the very beginning.
19:34Their fear was simple.
19:36A weakened Iran would still survive but become even more aggressive and unpredictable.
19:40And according to leaked CIA assessments, that's exactly what happened.
19:45Iran's government remains intact and much of its missile capacity survived the war.
19:50For Riyadh, this means permanent instability is no longer sustainable.
19:55But here's where things get complicated.
19:57The Gulf itself is divided.
19:59Saudi Arabia appears to favour de-escalation and mediation.
20:04The UAE, however, has moved in a far more hawkish direction.
20:07Abu Dhabi has deepened security ties with Israel, reportedly received Iron Dome systems during the war, and strongly backed anti
20:15-India positioning.
20:16So today, the Gulf is no longer speaking with one voice on Iran.
20:20And then there is Israel.
20:22Any formal regional arrangement that normalises Iran's role in West Asia is likely to face serious resistance from Tel Aviv.
20:29Israel views Iran not as a rival to be managed, but as a long-term existential threat.
20:34The United States could also be hesitant.
20:37Washington still maintains major military bases across the Gulf, while Iran continues demanding that regional states reduce American military presence.
20:46Then comes the state of Hormuz, one of the world's most important oil choke points.
20:51Iran already tries to assert influence there.
20:53Through its own maritime rules and toll systems, any non-aggression framework would eventually have to tackle this issue, and
21:01that won't be easy.
21:02But despite all these obstacles, Saudi Arabia's move backed by Pakistan reveals something important.
21:08West Asia is entering a new phase.
21:10For years, Gulf politics revolved around confrontation, proxy wars, and block rivalries.
21:17Now, major powers like Saudi Arabia appear more interested in strategic stability, economic security, and avoiding another devastating regional war.
21:26This is especially critical as Gulf economies diversify beyond oil and invest heavily in mega-projects, tourism, logistics, and technology.
21:35Constant war scares threaten all of that.
21:38So, the real question is not whether Saudi Arabia trusts Iran.
21:42It clearly doesn't.
21:44The real question is whether Riyadh now believes that managed coexistence is less dangerous than endless confrontation.
21:51And in today's West Asia, that alone marks a major geopolitical shift.
21:56With Farhan Khan, Pure Report, India Today Global.
22:02That's all in this edition of Statecraft.
22:04But before I go, forget about Trump, Xi Jinping, tariff wars, the war and conflict in West Asia, AI, trade
22:11deals.
22:12What really stole the show during President Trump's visit to China was Elon Musk's six-year-old son, X, who
22:20sauntered in and moved around the Great Hall of the People in his blue Chinese-style vest.
22:28And it was adorable to see how China completely obsessed with him.
22:33Take a look, enjoy, goodbye, and take care.
23:03I'll see you next time.
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