April 7, 2026 10:16 AM

UN expected to vote on watered-down Hormuz resolution on Tuesday

The U.N. Security Council is expected to vote on Tuesday on a resolution to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, but in significantly watered-down form after veto-wielding China opposed authorizing force, diplomats said. Oil prices have surged since the U.S. and Israel struck Iran at the end of February, unleashing a conflict that has run for more than five weeks and seen Tehran largely close the Strait, a vital energy artery. Efforts by Bahrain, the current chair of th...

March 31, 2026 10:15 AM

Three UN peacekeepers killed in Lebanon as Israeli strikes pummel south

Three United Nations peacekeepers from Indonesia were killed in two separate incidents in southern Lebanon after a bloody weekend in which Lebanese journalists and medics were killed in Israeli strikes. Two peacekeepers were killed on Monday after an explosion from an unknown origin destroyed their vehicle near Bani Hayyan in south Lebanon, the U.N. peacekeeping force UNIFIL said in a statement. Two other soldiers were wounded in the blast. Another Indonesian soldier was killed overnight Sunda...

March 24, 2026 1:42 PM

Bahrain pushes UN-backed action for Hormuz shipping; France tables rival text

Bahrain has put forward a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that would authorise countries to use "all necessary means" - diplomatic language for force - to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, according to a text seen by Reuters on Monday. Diplomats said the draft text was backed by other Gulf Arab states and the United States, although they said it was unlikely to get through the council, where Russia and China had veto power. France circulated a more concilia...

March 10, 2026 10:11 AM

US says UN aid to Afghanistan needs evaluation

Despite what it called a humanitarian "disaster" in Afghanistan, the U.S. said on Monday international assistance to the country should be evaluated, given Taliban "intransigence" and its exclusion of the female population from basic rights. Speaking to a U.N. Security Council meeting on Afghanistan, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, noted that the budget for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the mandate of which is up for renewal next week, is t...

April 24, 2024 4:35 PM

Iran, Pakistan urge U.N Security Council to take action against Israel

Iran and Pakistan called on the United Nations Security Council in a joint statement issued on Wednesday to take action against Israel, saying it had "illegally" targeted neighbouring countries and foreign diplomatic facilities.   The joint statement, released by Pakistan's foreign ministry, followed a three-day visit to the country by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi at a time of heightened tensions in the Middle East.   Explosions were heard last Friday over the Iranian city of Isfahan in...

April 24, 2024 4:12 PM

Iran, Pakistan urge U.N Security Council to take action against Israel

Iran and Pakistan called on the United Nations Security Council in a joint statement issued on Wednesday to take action against Israel, saying it had "illegally" targeted neighbouring countries and foreign diplomatic facilities.   The joint statement, released by Pakistan's foreign ministry, followed a three-day visit to the country by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi at a time of heightened tensions in the Middle East.   Explosions were heard last Friday over the Iranian city of Isfahan in...