New Delhi

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian used his visit to New Delhi for the 18th BRICS Summit to engage with a cross-section of Indian religious leaders, intellectuals and business representatives, highlighting the long-standing cultural and civilisational links between India and Iran.

Among those who met Pezeshkian at an interaction hosted by the Iranian Embassy were Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference; Haji Syed Salman Chishty, Gaddi Nashin of the Ajmer Sharif Dargah; Jain spiritual leader Acharya Lokesh Muni; Shia religious leaders from Kashmir, including Aga Syed Hassan Mosavi Al Safavi and Imran Reza Ansari; and representatives of the Indian business community, including Balkrishna, associated with the Patanjali Group.

The interaction was hosted by the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to India, Dr Mohammad Fathali. It was followed by a dinner reception.

.@MirwaizKashmir at the Iranian President’s event in New Delhi, where he visits an exhibition commemorating the innocent children killed in Minab. pic.twitter.com/upyDVR1Pc7

— Mirwaiz Manzil-Office of Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir (@mirwaizmanzil) September 11, 2026

The interaction assumed added significance as it took place against the backdrop of the continuing conflict in West Asia and growing international concern over the humanitarian and economic consequences of the war.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq called for an end to war and a return to dialogue and diplomacy. Speaking after the meeting, he said that peace could be achieved only through justice and urged global powers to help bring an end to the violence in Iran, Palestine and Lebanon.

Acharya Lokesh Muni also used the occasion to propose an international peace initiative in Tehran. He invited Pezeshkian to participate in a peace summit that would bring together religious leaders and peace advocates from around the world. According to Lokesh Muni, the Iranian President accepted the invitation.

Multiple Faiths, One Voice – #Minab 168
Ayatollah Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, Chief Justice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who travelled to India to participate in the #BRICS Meeting of Heads of Judiciary, began his visit with a meeting at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic… pic.twitter.com/bVAnWnnB7l

— Iran in India (@Iran_in_India) September 7, 2026

Haji Syed Salman Chishty, who represented Ajmer Sharif at the interaction, stressed India's long tradition of spiritual pluralism and its message of peace and universal brotherhood.

“India-Iran relations are centuries-old. Presence of Iranian leaders at BRICS Summit shows communication between two countries is strong and stable. Message from India to world is clear that India stands with justice and compassion,” Chishty said after meeting Pezeshkian in New Delhi.

In another message from the gathering, Chishty invoked the Indian spiritual ethos of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — the world is one family — and said India's message should be one of love, justice, compassion and opposition to injustice.

The meeting came hours after Pezeshkian held bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit. It was the second meeting between the two leaders in less than two weeks, following their August 31 meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek.

#WATCH | Delhi: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was honored with a shawl as he met Indian religious leaders, intellectuals, and business leaders pic.twitter.com/e5yV2yYO5a

— ANI (@ANI) September 11, 2026

During their New Delhi meeting, Modi and Pezeshkian discussed bilateral relations as well as the rapidly changing situation in West Asia. Modi reiterated India's position that disputes must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy and stressed the need to protect freedom of navigation, maritime commerce and the safety and well-being of seafarers.

Pezeshkian's interaction with Indian religious figures and intellectuals therefore added a people-to-people and civilisational dimension to his first visit to India as President of Iran. Coming at a time of heightened tensions in West Asia, the gathering also underlined the role that religious and community leaders can play in promoting dialogue, peace and understanding.

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For India, which maintains historic ties with Iran while also engaging with all major actors in the West Asian crisis, the President's outreach to a diverse group of Indian voices offered another avenue for reinforcing the message of dialogue and peaceful resolution.