General Antonio Guterres

Aug. 31 (UPI) — At least 11 United Nations employees in Yemen were abducted by Houthi-controlled authorities Sunday after they raided World Food Program facilities in the capital Sanaa.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced and condemned the abduction in a statement that also demanded the “immediate and unconditional release” of those detained.

The U.N.’s WFP provides life-saving food assistance to children and mothers in a country considered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises due to the nearly 12-year civil war between the Houthi militants and the internationally recognized Yemeni government.

The raid followed Israeli airstrikes on Houthi-controlled Sanaa on Friday, which killed its prime minister, Ahmed al-Rawai, along with several other ministers.

Sunday’s arrests increases the number of U.N. workers detained by the Houthis to 23, some whom have been in captivity since 2021 and 2023, Hans Grundberg, U.N. special envoy for Yemen, said in a separate statement.

“The work of U.N. personnel is designed and conducted under the principles of neutrality, impartiality, independence and humanity,” Grundberg said.

“These arrests violate the fundamental obligation to respect and protect their safety, dignity and ability to carry out their essential work in Yemen.”

Both Guterres and Grundberg confirmed that U.N. property had been confiscated by the Houthis during their Sunday raid, though exactly what taken was not detailed.

Both officials also demanded that the Iran-backed Houthis unconditionally release all U.N. personnel and staff from national and international NGOs, civil society organizations and diplomatic missions who have been taken over the years.

“The personnel of the U.N. and its partners must never be targeted, arrested or detained while carrying out their duties for the U.N.,” Guterres said.

“The safety and security of U.N. personnel and property as well as the inviolability of U.N. premises must be guaranteed at all times.”

Aug. 13 (UPI) — Britain, Germany and France told U.N. officials that snapback sanctions are on the table if Iran does not sit down to negotiate over its nuclear weaponry.

The letter delivered to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, signed by the three foreign ministers, indicated the E3 was prepared to enforce severe sanctions if Iran did not agree to limit it’s nuclear program and gave Iranian officials until the end of the month.

“We have made it clear that if Iran is not willing to reach a diplomatic solution before the end of August 2025, or does not seize the opportunity of an extension, E3 are prepared to trigger the snapback mechanism,” read a letter in part signed by Britain’s David Lammy, Jean-Noel Barrot of France and Germany’s Johann Wadephul.

The sixth round of American-Iranian negotiations were abandoned in June after a joint U.S.-Israeli attack on known parts of Iran’s nuclear facilities. The 12-day conflict escalated regional tension amid Israel’s war in Gaza and spiked oil prices.

The “snapback” guardrail built into Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal, officially titled the “Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,” was set to trigger if an instance arose in which Iran committed an act of “significant non-performance.”

Signed by Tehran with Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, the European Union and United States it removed sanctions and curbed Iran’s nuclear program. Initially the United States left the JCPOA in 2018 during U.S. President Donald Trump‘s first term in the White House.

Iran, however, has periodically violated parts of the agreement for years and the snapback mechanism threatened more than once by Europe and the E3 as far back as 2019 nearly four years after the deal was inked.

In addition to limiting Iranian nuclear activities, it thawed U.S. sanctions against Tehran that hampered its economy for years.

On Wednesday, Germany’s Wadephul said Iran “must never acquire a nuclear weapon” and reiterated that the E3 had “every right” to resort to snapback.

“Iran has the opportunity to return to diplomacy and resume full cooperation with the IAEA,” he wrote in an X post a little before 11 a.m. local time.

“The ball is now in Iran’s court,” Germany added.

July 4 (UPI) — U.N. nuclear inspectors on Friday departed from Iran two days after the Middle Eastern nation suspended cooperation with the program and weeks after the United States and Israel bombed nuclear sites.

Rafael Grossi, the inspector general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, had aimed to assess the uranium-enrichment facilities and see whether alleged nuclear bomb efforts had been set back.

IAEA hasn’t reported the inspectors findings.

They remained in the capital, Tehran, during the conflict between Israel and Iran.

“An IAEA team of inspectors today safely departed from Iran to return to the Agency headquarters in Vienna, after staying in Tehran throughout the recent military conflict,” the U.N. agency posted Friday on X.

“IAEA Director General rafaelmgrossi reiterated the crucial importance of the IAEA discussing with Iran modalities for resuming its indispensable monitoring and verification activities in Iran as soon as possible.”

On Wednesday, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian signed legislation that halts cooperation with the agency, blocking oversight of Iran’s nuclear program.

Inspectors will not be allowed to visit nuclear sites without approval from Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

Iranian lawmakers gave two conditions for resuming cooperation, according to state media. The safety of its nuclear program and scientists is secured, and an acknowledgment about its right under international law to enrich uranium.

The spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the Iranian law was “obviously concerning.”

“I think the secretary-general has been very consistent in his call for Iran to cooperate with the IAEA, and, frankly, for all countries to work closely with the IAEA on nuclear issues,” Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

Iran has been critical of a resolution on June 12 by the IAEA that accused Iran of non-compliance with its nuclear obligations.

This was one day before Israel attacked.

Iran and the United States had been engaged in talks for a nuclear deal. The U.S. used B-2 bombers to send missiles deep underground.

“We are for diplomacy,” Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, told NBC News on Thursday, adding the U.S. government needs “to convince us that they are not going to use military force while we are negotiating. That is an essential element for our leadership to be in a position to decide about the future round of talks.”

President Donald Trump, who doesn’t want Iran to be enriching uranium, said that the U.S. bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites “obliterated” the program.

Grossi earlier said that Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium remains unaccounted for, and the program may have been delayed only a few months, and not years.

“It can be, you know, described in different ways, but it’s clear that what happened in particular in Fordo, Natanz, Isfahan, where Iran used to have and still has, to some degree, capabilities in terms of treatment, conversion and enrichment of uranium have been destroyed to an important degree,” Grossi said in a CBS News interview on Saturday. “Some is still standing. So there is, of course, an important setback in terms of those of those capabilities.”

Iran has contended its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes but the agency reported in May that Iran stockpiled about 900 pounds of uranium enriched to 60% purity, enough to build nine bomb. That’s up 50% since February.

In December, the IAEA said Iran was rapidly moving closer to the 90% threshold needed for weapons-grade material.

In 2018, Trump unilaterally exited the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and reimposed harsh sanctions during his first term in office.

In 2015, Iran reached a deal with the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Russia, China and the European Union.

June 9 (UPI) — World leaders at a United Nations conference in France called for an end to ocean-plundering activity with a global agreement likely on the horizon.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the UN’s third ocean conference Monday in Nice with over 120 nations and more than 50 heads of state taking part in the five-day gathering.

“The ocean is the ultimate share resource,” Guterres said to global representatives at the port of Nice. “But we are failing it.”

He said oceans are absorbing 90% of excess heat fro greenhouse gas emissions and buckling under the strain of overfishing, rising temperatures, plastic pollution, acidification, dying coral reefs and collapsing marine life.

The conference co-hosted by France and Costa Rica was focused on ratifying the 2023 High Seas Treaty, which required 60 other countries to sign-on to before it becomes a binding international law.

Rising seas, accordion to Guterres, could soon “submerge deltas, destroy crops, and swallow coastlines — threatening many islands’ survival.”

On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron revealed that the milestone was within reach.

“The sea is our first ally against global warming,” Macron said in his opening speech.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said if the world neglects the ocean and its treated “without respect” then it “will turn on us,” she said, adding there will be “ever more violent storms” that ravage the world’s coastlines.

Last month, the European Union ratified the treaty.

“The ocean is our greatest ally, whether you live here in Europe, or anywhere in the world,” said von der Leyen.

The treaty sets a global commitment to protect at least 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030, and provides countries with meaningful tools and ways to create protected ocean areas and conduct evaluations of such things as the damage of commercial activities like deep sea mining to marine life.

The United States was not present at the meeting as a State Department spokesman said it was “at odds” with current U.S. policy.

Macron said 15 other countries have “formally committed to joining” in addition to the more than 50 countries.

“So that’s a win,” said the French president, at one point saying the ocean “is not for sale” in an apparent swipe at U.S. President Donald Trump.

Meanhwile, von der Leyen said Monday that Europe would contribute more than $45 million to the Global Ocean Programme.

“So I ask you all today: Please speed up ratification, because our ocean needs us to play (our) part,” she said.

June 3 (UPI) — At least 27 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured early Tuesday near an aid hub run by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in southern Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.

The Hamas-run ministry said in a social media update that the people were waiting at an area designated as an aid distribution point in Rafah and that 27 bodies and 90 injured had been brought to hospitals, “some of them in a critical condition.”

The statement did not say how the victims were killed and injured, but the incident follows the deaths of at least 31 Palestinians and injuring of more than 200 after Israel Defense Forces allegedly opened fire on a crowd at the same location Sunday.

The IDF said on its official account on X on Tuesday that troops fired warning shots to deter “several suspects moving toward them, deviating from the designated routes” leading to the aid site. When the suspects failed to turn back, the soldiers directed additional fire toward individuals continuing to advance toward their positions.

The IDF said it was aware of Tuesday’s reports of casualties and was looking into the details.

“The IDF allows the American Civil Organization (GHF) to operate independently in order to enable the distribution of aid to the Gazan residents — and not to Hamas. IDF troops are not preventing the arrival of Gazan civilians to the humanitarian aid distribution sites. The warning shots were fired approximately half a kilometer away from the humanitarian aid distribution site toward several suspects who advanced toward the troops in such a way that posed a threat to them,” the military’s statement read.

However, an overseas volunteer doctor working in a nearby hospital told the BBC it had been “total carnage” since just before 4 a.m. local time and that they had been deluged with injured people.

On Monday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an urgent, independent probe into the violence that reportedly occurred Sunday.

“I am appalled by the reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza yesterday. It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food,” he said.

The IDF has categorically denied any involvement in Sunday’s incident, insisting an initial investigation had found “the IDF did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site.”

The Gaza Health Foundation, set up to run the new U.S.-Israeli mechanism for delivering humanitarian assistance into Gaza, which bypasses the United Nations and other aid agencies, also denied the reports of Sunday’s violence, saying aid had been distributed without incident and that there had been no injuries or fatalities.

However, GHF has been plagued by problems since it began operations in Gaza a week ago with thousands of hungry Gazans swamping its Tel al-Sultan Secure Distribution Site One from day one.

The scheme aims to prevent aid from allegedly being stolen and resold by Hamas to fund its military operations against Israel, but the U.N. and legacy aid agencies have roundly condemned it as being in breach of humanitarian ethics and “weaponizing” the issue of aid.

GHF’s two top officials, Executive Director and former U.S. Marine Jake Wood and Chief Operating Officer David Burke, both resigned in the days before the scheme began operating.

Burke has not publicly commented on his decision, but Wood said he resigned because the scheme was out of step with the key humanitarian principles of “humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence.”