Iran has applied to join the BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), Tasnim reports citing the official representative of the country's Foreign Ministry, Saeed Khatibzadeh.

He expressed hope that Iran's BRICS membership would bring "additional benefits" to both sides. Khatibzadeh noted that the share of the BRICS countries in world GDP is 30%, and the total population of the states included in the group is 40% of the world's population.

Last week, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi spoke at the BRICS+ online summit at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. He said that "Iran's geopolitical and geo-economic position can make it a stable and reliable partner for the BRICS."

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez also announced the country's desire to join the association.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed that Iran and Argentina have applied to join the BRICS.

“While the White House was thinking about what else in the world would be turned off, banned and spoiled, Argentina and Iran applied to join the BRICS,” she wrote on Telegram.

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said that Moscow is positive about the possible expansion of the BRICS, but "this problem must be approached very carefully, carefully." The Russian side proposes to define procedures and requirements for accession candidates, he said. According to Ushakov, first you need to find some formats that at the initial stage will allow you to cooperate with the association as observers.