United Nations

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) shakes hands with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani at the State Department in Washington, on Dec. 17, 2025.

Qatar’s prime minister meets US officials as Gaza plan stalls

Sheikh Mohammed's visit comes as questions mount over Hamas' disarmament and the role of international troops in post-war Gaza.

A woman sells koshary after the Eid prayer in Abu Sir village on April 21, 2023, in Giza, Egypt.

Culture

Egypt’s koshary, Gulf’s bisht gain UNESCO recognition

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has added more than 10 cultural practices from across the Middle East and North Africa region this year.

Iraqi President Barham Salih meets with UK Prime Minister, Theresa May (unseen), on June 25, 2019, in London, England.

Barham Salih slated to become first Kurd and Iraqi to lead UNHCR

Barham Salih — former Iraqi president of Iraq and widely respected politician in Washington — has been formally nominated to become the next UN high commissioner for refugees.

A boy sits outside the entrance to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) building complex in Gaza City, on Sept. 6, 2025.

Interview

UNRWA plans Turkey office to boost Gaza, Syria aid as pledges dip

Speaking exclusively to Al-Monitor, UNRWA’s Tamara Alrifai said the upcoming Turkey office would help the agency to expand its operations not only in Gaza but also in Syria.

Tamara Alrifai

Latest News

Iran stops IAEA inspections following UN watchdog's reprimand

In this handout photo released by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) on November 10, 2025, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi (L) is accompanied by AEOI chief Mohammad Eslami during a visit to a facility in Tehran. (Photo by Atomic Energy Organization of Iran / AFP)

UN Security Council endorses US plan for Gaza security force

UN Security Council votes for US resolution on the Gaza peace plan

Exclusive

US pushes UN vote to revoke Sharaa sanctions before White House visit

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa waits to meet with France's president, Emmanuel Macron, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Sept. 24, 2025.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Sudan PM orders state of alert as atrocity claims mount in Darfur

EBRAHIM HAMID/AFP via Getty Images

Smoke billows following an Israeli strike that targeted a building in the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on Oct. 19, 2025.

US military to start Gaza ceasefire monitoring as international force plans stall

Diplomatic snags and concerns that their troops could be caught in the crossfire between Hamas and Israel are raising questions about a US proposal to stabilize postwar Gaza with an international force, despite "great optimism" cited by US Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday.

ABDELRAHMAN RASHAD/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

FIFA, Arab League, World Bank: Who's pledging what toward Gaza’s $70B reconstruction?

More than 90% of Gaza’s residential buildings have been damaged, and nearly 70% of all structures have either been severely damaged or leveled over the course of the war.

Khaled El-Enany, Egyptologist and former Minister of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt, speaks during an interview with AFP at a hotel in Paris on April 10, 2025.

Culture

UNESCO backs Egypt's Khaled el-Enany as next director-general, first Arab in post

Enany would be the first Egyptian and the first Arab to serve as the agency’s director-general.

Former senior commander of the Sudanese Janjaweed militia Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman.

In a first, ICC convicts Sudanese militia leader of Darfur war crimes

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman was found guilty of 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur between 2003 and 2004.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (C) welcomes Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov (L) and Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazeem Gharibabadi.

Analysis

How far will China, Russia go in shielding Iran from UN sanctions?

Iran is lobbying states to resist enforcement of UN sanctions — looking particularly to China and Russia to blunt the impact, even as questions remain about the limits of their willingness to act.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

President of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters on Sept. 24, 2025 in New York City.

Analysis

'Prepared for any scenario': What are Iran's options after sanctions snapback?

As the snapback nears, Iran weighs diplomacy, escalation and changes to its nuclear policy.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Women and children walk at the Al-Amal Camp (formerly Al-Jadaa), south of Mosul in northern Iraq, which houses Iraqi families who have been repatriated from Syria's Al-Hol camp, on May 8, 2025.

Pentagon pushes to accelerate ISIS detainee repatriations from Syria

Uncertainty about Syria’s long-term stability and the the US military’s future presence in the country have increased urgency among some Pentagon officials to further reduce the population of nearly 30,000 suspected ISIS-associated detainees in the camps.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin (L) talks to US President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on April 7, 2025, in Washington.

Analysis

Netanyahu sidesteps Trump's Gaza plan at UN as US presses Israel to end war

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet on Monday with President Donald Trump, where he will have to make decisions on whether to continue with the Gaza war or end it.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

President Donald Trump (C-R) and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C-L) listen during a multilateral meeting with leaders from several Arab and Muslim-majority countries at the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters on Sept. 23, 2025 in New York City.

Trump presents Gaza plan to Arab, Muslim leaders at UNGA

As international pressure builds during UNGA week, Trump pitched Arab and Muslim leaders on a plan for ending the war in Gaza and the handling of its governance.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attends a joint press conference following the signing of an Egypt-backed agreement on practical modalities to resume nuclear inspections on the Iranian nuclear program on Sept. 9, 2025 in Cairo, Egypt.

Araghchi pushes last-ditch diplomacy at UN as Iran braces for sanctions snapback

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi pursued urgent diplomacy in New York to block the looming snapback of UN sanctions, warning Western powers against "confrontation," as lawmakers at home demanded radical revisions of Tehran's nuclear doctrine.

President Donald Trump (R) speaks with President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L), as they arrive for the North Atlantic Council Plenary Session on the second day of the 2025 NATO Summit on June 25, 2025 in The Hague, Netherlands.

Turkey’s Erdogan eyes F-35s, Kurdish concessions in White House talks with Trump

Erdogan is pressing Washington for a return to the F-35 program and a rollback of US support for Kurdish forces, even as Congress signals resistance.

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

In UN speech, Trump slams allies’ Palestine recognition as 'reward' to Hamas

President Donald Trump spoke on the heels of France, the United Kingdom and other countries endorsing Palestinian statehood.