What the UN is Doing About the Iran-Israel War

Plus: The US walks out of a key UN meeting -- and why the UN is abandoning an historic building in Geneva

Bombs are dropping in Iran and Israel, with no end in sight and the very real prospect that the United States might imminently join the fight. As this hot war unfolds in the Middle East, frantic diplomacy is also underway at both the United Nations and the IAEA. In this fresh episode of our bespoke podcast about the UN, To Save Us From Hell, Mark and Anjali take a deep dive into a parallel diplomatic process on Iran’s nuclear program that is unfolding alongside the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.

In the second segment, they discuss the implications of the Trump administration’s decision to walk out of a major UN conference on Financing for Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. (The Trump administration tried to cow the rest of the world into abandoning the SDGs—but the rest of the world stood firm!)

Mark and Anjali then react to breaking news that the United Nations is poised to abandon its lease at the historic and stately Palais Wilson in Geneva, which once housed the League of Nations and is now the headquarters of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Might this reflect the declining prestige of the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights — or even the UN as a whole? Listen and learn!

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