Middle East

US Reacts to Alarming New Information From UN Agency on Iran’s Nuclear Activities

February 25, 2021

VIENNA — The International Atomic Energy Agency reported in a confidential document, seen by PassBlue, that Iran has added 17.6 kilograms of uranium, enriched up to 20 percent, to its total stockpile. The enrichment process, which had been announced by Iran in January, is occurring at Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear facility. The 20 percent …

Middle East, Nuclear Disarmament

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The UN Nuclear Watchdog Reaches a Temporary Inspection Plan With Iran

February 21, 2021

by Stephanie Liechtenstein

VIENNA — Iran has told the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, that it will significantly limit inspections of its nuclear facilities as of Feb. 23. Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director-general of the Vienna-based agency, traveled to Tehran over the weekend to meet with Iranian officials to try to preserve at …

Middle East, Nuclear Disarmament, Security Council, US Foreign Relations

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THIS WEEK @UN

The US Rejoins the Paris Agreement; Climate-Related Conflicts; Intrigue With a UN Envoy

February 19, 2021

by Ivana Ramirez

The United States jumps back into the Paris Agreement; the Security Council tackles climate-security risks (for now); a new UN envoy’s letter from the past returns to haunt him. You are reading This Week @UN, a summary of the most pressing issues facing the organization. The information is gathered from the UN spokesperson’s press briefings, …

Africa, Climate and Environment, General Assembly, Middle East, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

Russia Brings Human Contact Back to the UN Security Council

October 4, 2020

by Stéphanie Fillion

From the very moment that the United Nations decided to work online, after the pandemic hit, Russia has been the strongest and loudest opponent of going virtual at the world body. For its Security Council presidency, in October, Russia finally got its way: the Council will be meeting once again in its chamber, sitting …

Africa, Middle East, Security Council Presidency

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As Iran Allows the UN Access to Suspected Nuclear Sites, Its Uranium Stockpile Is Growing

September 7, 2020

by Stephanie Liechtenstein

VIENNA — The International Atomic Energy Agency has just reported that Iran’s stockpile of low-enriched uranium continues to grow. The stockpile now exceeds the limit set in the 2015 nuclear deal tenfold. According to the confidential quarterly IAEA report, distributed to member states on Sept. 4 and seen by PassBlue, as of Aug. 25, …

Middle East, Nuclear Disarmament, Security Council

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THIS WEEK @UN

Beijing+25; ICC Prosecutor Sanctioned by US; Niger Leads the Security Council

September 5, 2020

by Dulcie Leimbach

The 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing; the United States sanctions the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court; dissecting the failed ambitions of the US effort to force the UN mission in Lebanon to be more aggressive. Greetings from This Week @UN, our summary highlighting the most important news on the …

Middle East, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

The Unifil Peacekeeping Mandate: Kicking the Southern Lebanon Can Down the Road

September 3, 2020

by Karim Makdisi

On Aug. 28, the United Nations Security Council unanimously voted to renew its peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, called Unifil, for another year. This unanimity, however, masked what had been a series of heated informal discussions on the nature of Unifil and the interpretation of its mandate. The United States, essentially representing Israel, threatened …

Middle East, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping, WORLDVIEWS

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THIS WEEK @UN

India’s Reliance on Fossil Fuels, Casting Light on UN Counterterrorism Ops, US Asylum Seekers Stuck in Mexico

August 29, 2020

by Allison Lecce

US asylum seekers pushed back into Mexico in unprecedented numbers amid Covid-19; an investigation into the mysterious work of the richly financed UN counterterrorism operations; chastising India for its support of fossil fuels; and a UN envoy’s assessment of the new United Arab Emirates-Israeli pact. Greetings from This Week @UN, our summary highlighting the most …

Climate and Environment, Middle East, Refugees, Terrorism, This Week @UN, US Foreign Relations

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Throwing Light on the UN’s Counterterrorism World, Funded Mainly By the Saudis and Qataris

August 24, 2020

by Stéphanie Fillion

For years, Saudi Arabia has been playing a heavy-handed role in the work of United Nations counterterrorism through its financial contributions, even as the country’s own history of funding of terrorism is problematic. Some officials who work or have worked in the UN’s counterterrorism operations denounce their lack of transparency and shudder at how …

Middle East, Terrorism

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THIS WEEK @UN

Mali’s Coup, Belarus’s Protests, Pompeo’s Brief Appearance at the UN

August 22, 2020

by Allison Lecce

A military coup in Mali; massive protests in Belarus over the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko; more than a million people displaced in Burkina Faso; and the United States takes its next step to extend the Iran arms embargo through the United Nations Security Council, as most of its members still push back. Greetings from This …

Africa, Middle East, This Week @UN, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

All Fuss and No Substance on the Middle East ‘Breakthrough’

August 18, 2020

by Irwin Arieff

Talking heads are showering Donald Trump with praise over his surprise unveiling of an agreement that he said would alter the Middle East landscape by building a diplomatic bridge between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. If completed as advertised, the deal would indeed, as Trump tweeted, be a “huge breakthrough,” as it would …

Middle East, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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COVID-19

Lebanon’s Crisis on Top of a Crisis: Our Latest Podcast Episode

August 17, 2020

by Stéphanie Fillion and Kacie Candela

The devastating series of explosions that rocked Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, on Aug. 4, killed nearly 200 people, injured thousands of others, destroyed most of the city’s port, flattened surrounding neighborhoods, damaged six hospitals and more than 20 health clinics and wiped out 120 schools. Five days later, on Aug. 9, the international …

Covid-19, Middle East, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping

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The US Gamble to Extend the Iran Arms Ban Fails. What’s Next?

August 14, 2020

by Evelyn Leopold

Doomed from the start, the United States asked the 14 other United Nations Security Council members to approve a resolution to extend an arms embargo on Iran that expires on Oct. 18. The embargo is part of the Security Council resolution adopted in 2015 that endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), to …

Middle East, Nuclear Disarmament, US-UN Relations

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As Explosive Weapons Kill More Civilians Abroad, US Companies Just Sell More of Them

July 15, 2020

by Allison Lecce

For the ninth year in a row, 90 percent of people killed by explosive weapons in urban areas were civilians. The use of these devices is proliferating in conflicts because they are becoming easier to come by — sometimes they are even homemade. The United States is the world’s largest overall exporter of arms …

Disarmament, Middle East, Security Council, Syria

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Despite Common Rejection of Trump’s Mideast Plan, Some Hope to Restart Talks

February 11, 2020

by Stéphanie Fillion

A few days after Jared Kushner, President Trump’s adviser and son-in-law, met with United Nations Security Council members offsite in New York to sell the United States’ Mideast deal for peace, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas came to the Council to vehemently oppose it. While Abbas’s criticisms were echoed by most members of the Council, …

Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Middle East, Security Council, US Foreign Relations

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A Millennial UN Staffer Who Is Daring to Run Against Secretary-General António Guterres

Stéphanie Fillion

WORLDVIEWS

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Middle East

US Reacts to Alarming New Information From UN Agency on Iran’s Nuclear Activities

The UN Nuclear Watchdog Reaches a Temporary Inspection Plan With Iran

The US Rejoins the Paris Agreement; Climate-Related Conflicts; Intrigue With a UN Envoy

Russia Brings Human Contact Back to the UN Security Council

As Iran Allows the UN Access to Suspected Nuclear Sites, Its Uranium Stockpile Is Growing

Beijing+25; ICC Prosecutor Sanctioned by US; Niger Leads the Security Council

The Unifil Peacekeeping Mandate: Kicking the Southern Lebanon Can Down the Road

India’s Reliance on Fossil Fuels, Casting Light on UN Counterterrorism Ops, US Asylum Seekers Stuck in Mexico

Throwing Light on the UN’s Counterterrorism World, Funded Mainly By the Saudis and Qataris

Mali’s Coup, Belarus’s Protests, Pompeo’s Brief Appearance at the UN

All Fuss and No Substance on the Middle East ‘Breakthrough’

Lebanon’s Crisis on Top of a Crisis: Our Latest Podcast Episode

The US Gamble to Extend the Iran Arms Ban Fails. What’s Next?

As Explosive Weapons Kill More Civilians Abroad, US Companies Just Sell More of Them

Despite Common Rejection of Trump’s Mideast Plan, Some Hope to Restart Talks

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The UN Must Select a Female Secretary-General Now, Not Later

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US Reacts to Alarming New Information From UN Agency on Iran’s Nuclear Activities

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