Iranian Parliament Speaker Cancels Delhi Visit Amid Medicine Transport Disagreement

UPDATE - follow-up to Iran Speaker to skip BRICS meet, as Iran seeks bilateral air route for 'humanitarian aid' from India: Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf will not attend the BRICS Parliamentary Forum meeting in New Delhi on October 26 and 27, according to an announcement made by the Embassy of Iran on Saturday, October 24, 2026. An Iranian parliamentary delegation will still participate in the event instead.

Transport Dispute

The cancellation follows a disagreement over transporting Indian medicines to Tehran. Iran Air was denied permission to fly pharmaceutical shipments directly from India to Tehran due to concerns over U.S. sanctions. Indian officials stated that Indian airports and air operators could face U.S. penalties because major Iranian airlines are under U.S. Treasury sanctions. Official sources in Delhi also maintained that the Speaker's absence is not connected to these medicine supply bottlenecks. Meanwhile, Indian pharmaceutical companies continue to send medical supplies to Iran through third countries like Armenia, Oman, Iraq, and Turkey.

Iranian Concerns

Iranian officials argued that humanitarian assistance is exempt from international sanctions and urged India to open a direct bilateral air route on priority. They noted that direct flights from Delhi to Tehran take three hours, whereas third-country routes and road transit take 24 to 48 hours. Tehran claimed that some temperature-sensitive medications perished and became unusable during previous long transits through Armenia involving multiple heavy cargo transfers. Iranian officials also pointed to resistance from major Indian corporate players who fear U.S. and European Union sanctions.

Context

Sanctions from the United States often compel third-party nations and private companies to avoid direct commercial or financial ties with targeted countries to prevent secondary penalties. Humanitarian exemptions exist in theory under various international frameworks, but practical compliance hurdles frequently make logistics difficult for commercial operators. Both India and Iran maintain long-standing diplomatic and economic ties as members of the BRICS grouping.