TEHRAN— Iran is seeking to turn judicial cooperation into a broader instrument of strategic diplomacy, with Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei holding talks with senior judicial officials from China, Russia and Belarus on the sidelines of the BRICS Chief Justices’ Forum in New Delhi.

The meetings, which brought together some of the highest-ranking judicial officials from the four countries, focused on legal cooperation, artificial intelligence, digital technologies and the exchange of judicial expertise. But they also carried a broader geopolitical message: Tehran says it intends to deepen its ties with major non-Western powers as the international system moves toward 'a new global order.'

The BRICS Chief Justices’ Forum, hosted by India’s Supreme Court from Sept. 4 to 6, is bringing together chief justices, presidents of supreme courts and senior judicial officials from BRICS members and partner countries. Its agenda includes international commercial disputes, cross-border enforcement of arbitration awards, artificial intelligence in judicial administration and sustainable development.

During a meeting with Zhang Jun, president of China’s Supreme People’s Court, Mohseni-Ejei said Tehran was determined to expand relations with Beijing and argued that stronger legal and judicial links could provide an institutional foundation for cooperation in wider strategic fields.
“China and Iran have extensive and strong relations, and we are determined to expand our ties with China,” Mohseni-Ejei said, according to Iranian media.

He called for greater exchanges of legal expertise among BRICS members and urged the two countries to make fuller use of existing memoranda of understanding. He also singled out artificial intelligence and digital technologies as areas where Chinese experience could be combined with Iran’s domestic capabilities to open new avenues for cooperation.

Zhang welcomed the prospect of closer judicial ties, recalling his previous meeting with Mohseni-Ejei in China and describing their earlier discussions as deep and constructive. He said China and Iran had maintained stable relations despite regional and international upheavals and expressed hope that cooperation between the two countries would expand across a wider range of fields.

The emphasis on technology reflects the changing priorities of judicial institutions across the BRICS grouping. China, Zhang said, has been studying new approaches to judicial governance and the application of artificial intelligence and digital technologies, and is prepared to share those experiences with Iran.

For Tehran, such cooperation is not simply a technical matter. Mohseni-Ejei has repeatedly framed judicial and technological exchanges as part of a larger effort to strengthen ties among countries seeking greater independence from the existing Western-led international system.
 

A widening judicial network

Mohseni-Ejei also met Andrei Shved, chairman of Belarus’ Supreme Court, where the two sides discussed expanding judicial and legal cooperation.

The Iranian judiciary chief again highlighted artificial intelligence and technological exchanges, arguing that advances in digital tools could accelerate the handling of legal and judicial cases.

He said geopolitical developments had brought the international system to a historic turning point and suggested that cooperation among BRICS members and partner countries could help shape the emerging order.

Shved welcomed closer relations with Iran and invited Mohseni-Ejei to visit Belarus. He also said Minsk was prepared to work toward a new memorandum of understanding on judicial cooperation.

The Belarusian official said the two countries could use judicial ties as a channel for facilitating cooperation in other areas as well.

The meeting was part of a wider series of bilateral contacts taking place alongside the BRICS forum. India’s Supreme Court said judicial leaders from Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates, together with partner countries including

Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, were participating in the three-day gathering.

Message to Washington

Alongside the legal and technological agenda, Mohseni-Ejei used his meetings to deliver a distinctly political assessment of Iran’s confrontation with the United States and Israel.

In a separate meeting with Igor Krasnov, chief justice of Russia’s Supreme Court, he said Iran and Russia could play a significant role in restoring regional and global stability through closer coordination and stronger strategic capabilities.

In remarks reported during his New Delhi meetings, Mohseni-Ejei said the United States and Israel had devoted their military and political resources to imposing an “unjust and illegal” war on Iran.

He maintained that Iran had withstood the pressure and that Washington had failed to accomplish its objectives.

“America is looking for a way out of the quagmire it has created for itself,” Mohseni-Ejei said, according to Iranian reports.

He argued that Iran’s ability to withstand the conflict had demonstrated Tehran's strategic resilience, while portraying closer cooperation with Russia, China and other non-Western powers as part of a broader response to changing global power dynamics.

The remarks come as Iranian officials increasingly present BRICS not merely as an economic grouping but as a platform through which Tehran can cultivate diplomatic, legal, technological and institutional relationships beyond traditional Western alliances.

Courts as instruments of wider diplomacy

The meetings in New Delhi also illustrate how judicial diplomacy is becoming intertwined with broader state-to-state relations.

Mohseni-Ejei told his Chinese counterpart that judicial cooperation could act as a “supporting arm” for strategic relations, suggesting that legal institutions can help create channels for cooperation in areas extending well beyond the courtroom.

That approach has particular significance for Iran, which faces extensive U.S. sanctions and has sought to deepen economic, political and technological ties with China and Russia while expanding relations with other members and partners of BRICS.

Artificial intelligence has emerged as one of the most practical areas for cooperation. The BRICS forum itself places AI and judicial administration among its central themes, alongside mediation, international commercial disputes, cross-border arbitration and sustainable development.

For Iran, the attraction is twofold: access to technological and institutional experience from countries such as China, while simultaneously strengthening links with a network of states that Tehran views as important to the emerging international balance.

Mohseni-Ejei has also expressed hope that Iran will eventually host a summit of the heads of judiciaries of Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states, further underscoring Tehran’s ambition to use judicial institutions as another channel of multilateral engagement.