Tehran, Aug 26 (IANS): Iranian lawmakers said the country's accession to BRICS will help improve its economy and is an important step to offset the negative impact of US-led economic sanctions.

It was announced on Thursday at the 15th BRICS Summit held in South Africa that six countries, including Iran, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have been invited to join the bloc, and their membership will take effect on January 1, 2024.

Speaking to Iran's official news agency IRNA on Friday, Alireza Salimi, a member of the Iranian Parliament's presiding board, said Iran's membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and BRICS, an acronym for five major emerging economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, "is an outcome of the incumbent administration's active diplomacy and an important step toward neutralising the US and European sanctions".

Shahriar Heidari, a member of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, told IRNA on Friday that Iran's membership in the BRICS will contribute to the ongoing effort to de-dollarise the world economy, Xinhua news agency reported.

The lawmaker said that similar to its admission to the SCO, Iran's membership in the BRICS will have positive political and economic effects on the country and grow its geopolitical influence in the region.

By joining the BRICS, Iran will be able to improve its economic relations with other countries, reduce the impact of the sanctions, curb its inflation to a great extent and increase the national currency's value against the dollar, Heidari added.

Speaking to the Iranian Parliament's ICANA news agency on Friday, Abbas Moqtadaei, Vice-Chairman of the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, hailed Iran's accession to the BRICS as a success for the country's foreign policy and said it would have a positive effect on the economy, trade, banking and monetary sectors.