United Nations

GREENBELT, Md. — Former Trump administration national security advisor John Bolton was charged Thursday in a federal investigation into the potential mishandling of classified information, a person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press.

The investigation into Bolton, who served for more than a year in President Trump’s first administration before being fired in 2019, burst into public view in August when the FBI searched his home in Maryland and his office in Washington for classified records he may have held onto from his years in government.

The existence of the indictment was confirmed to the AP by a person familiar with the matter who could not publicly discuss the charges and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

Agents during the August search seized multiple documents labeled “classified,” “confidential” and “secret” from Bolton’s office, according to previously unsealed court filings. Some of the seized records appeared to concern weapons of mass destruction, national “strategic communication” and the U.S. mission to the United Nations, the filings stated.

The indictment sets the stage for a closely watched court case centering on a longtime fixture in Republican foreign policy circles who became known for his hawkish views on American power and who after leaving Trump’s first government emerged as a prominent and vocal critic of the president. Though the investigation that produced the indictment began before Trump’s second term, the case will unfold against the backdrop of broader concerns that his Justice Department is being weaponized to go after his political adversaries.

It follows separate indictments over the last month accusing former FBI Director James Comey of lying to Congress and New York Atty. Gen. Letitia James of committing bank fraud and making a false statement, charges they both deny. Both of those cases were filed in federal court in Virginia by a prosecutor Trump hastily installed in the position after growing frustrated that investigations into high-profile enemies had not resulted in prosecution.

The Bolton case, by contrast, was filed in Maryland by a U.S. attorney who before being elevated to the job had been a career prosecutor in the office.

Questions about Bolton’s handling of classified information date back years. He faced a lawsuit and a Justice Department investigation after leaving office related to information in a 2020 book he published, “The Room Where it Happened,” that portrayed Trump as grossly uninformed about foreign policy.

The Trump administration asserted that Bolton’s manuscript included classified information that could harm national security if exposed. Bolton’s lawyers have said he moved forward with the book after a White House National Security Council official, with whom Bolton had worked for months, said the manuscript no longer contained classified information.

A search warrant affidavit that was previously unsealed said a National Security Council official had reviewed the book manuscript and told Bolton in 2020 that it appeared to contain “significant amounts” of classified information, some at a top-secret level.

Bolton’s attorney Abbe Lowell has said that many of the documents seized in August had been approved as part of a pre-publication review for Bolton’s book. He said that many were decades old, from Bolton’s long career in the State Department, as an assistant attorney general and as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

The indictment is a dramatic moment in Bolton’s long career in government. He served in the Justice Department during President Reagan’s administration and was the State Department’s point man on arms control during George W. Bush’s presidency. Bolton was nominated by Bush to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, but the strong supporter of the Iraq war was unable to win Senate confirmation and resigned after serving 17 months as a Bush recess appointment. That allowed him to hold the job on a temporary basis without Senate confirmation.

In 2018, Bolton was appointed to serve as Trump’s third national security advisor. But his brief tenure was characterized by disputes with the president over North Korea, Iran and Ukraine.

Those rifts ultimately led to Bolton’s departure, with Trump announcing on social media in September 2019 that he had accepted Bolton’s resignation. Bolton subsequently criticized Trump’s approach to foreign policy and government in his 2020 book, including by alleging that Trump directly tied providing military aid to the country’s willingness to conduct investigations into Joe Biden, who was soon to be Trump’s Democratic 2020 election rival, and members of his family.

Trump responded by slamming Bolton as a “washed-up guy” and a “crazy” warmonger who would have led the country into “World War Six.” Trump also said at the time that the book contained “highly classified information” and that Bolton “did not have approval” for publishing it.

Tucker, Durkin Richer and Kunzelman write for the Associated Press. Tucker and Durkin Richer reported from Washington.

A seasoned globetrotter has visited more than 90 countries and has one ‘soulless spot’ he has no desire to revisit – and its not just the culture that has put him off

A well-travelled explorer who has visited more than 90 nations spanning six continents has revealed which region he considers his worst destination.

Gabriel Morris, a globe-trotting YouTube content creator, has spent over three decades travelling the world.

To be precise, Gabriel has visited “97 United Nations member states plus the three disputed countries of Kosovo, Northern Cyprus, and Taiwan which do not have UN member status.”

Yet, there’s one ‘soulless spot’ from his vast travels that he has pledged never to return to.

With 613,000 subscribers on YouTube, Gabriel’s travel content regularly garners substantial attention and engagement from fellow explorers and enthusiasts keen to learn about his adventures, reports the Express.

In his latest video titled ‘I’ve Been to 100 Countries – Which Place is the Worst?’, the YouTuber revealed that the Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf) ranks as the most disappointing location he’s experienced.

Speaking to his viewers, Gabriel explained: “I’ve seen a fair amount of the world and many of those countries I’ve been to over and over and travelled around a lot. I’ll just tell you at the beginning here, my least favourite part of the world is the Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf).”

It’s worth noting Iran refers to it as the Persian Gulf, whilst the nations situated on the southern and western shores of the Gulf call it the Arabian Gulf.

So, why does Gabriel find the Persian Gulf region less appealing?

The content creator explains: “Now, I haven’t been to Iran, and Iran looks absolutely incredible. And so I’m not including Iran in this. I don’t know that along the Persian Gulf there is anything especially nice to see there.”

Gabriel has travelled to countless destinations around the Persian Gulf, including Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh and Jeddah, where he rented a vehicle for a day to explore beyond the urban limits, plus Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, encompassing Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Yet none of these destinations particularly enchanted him.

He said: “There’s a little bit more to see in the desert outside of the cities, but not very much. Mostly it’s just flat desert. Basically, I am thinking of the main cities on the Persian Gulf, and then including the cities of Saudi Arabia, which aren’t near the Persian Gulf but do border it. I just find these cities to be devoid of anything particularly interesting as a traveller. I find them to be very boring and stale.

“The streets are practically empty of people other than those in their cars. You don’t get the bustling, busy marketplace experience. All of those cities are built in a very similar style of massive skyscrapers. It makes for an impressive skyline, but then you get there on the ground and it’s big, wide streets that can be almost impossible to cross. There’s lots of traffic, massive distances, and not really anything that I want to do there. You can go in malls, you can go to some restaurants. Alcohol is banned for the most part, so that’s another drawback.”

Branding them as “soulless”, Gabriel added: “I just find them to be kind of soulless and not unique in any way. You could drop me in any one of those cities and not tell me which one it is, and unless you had a view of, say, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai or some particular landmark, if you were in a typical neighbourhood you couldn’t distinguish it from any of the others. They’re all built exactly the same and just super boring. Now, they aren’t bad places to live necessarily or to raise a family. They are safe, they’re clean, and they’re hassle-free. There’s no hustling, scams, or anything really to worry about.”

Apart from Qatar and Dubai, which Gabriel ranks as his top two destinations respectively, Gabriel reckons that of all the places around the world, he has “no desire to go back to that part of the world”, though he admits the culture is “certainly fine”.

Nevertheless, Gabriel thinks there’s another problem at hand.

He explained: “Most of the people you’re going to interact with aren’t even the local Saudis, Emiratis, Qataris, Kuwaitis, or Bahrainis, because the local populations in all those countries are actually a minority. The majority of people you’ll encounter are workers from South Asia – Indians, Pakistanis, lots of Bangladeshis – who are working in restaurants, malls, hotels, and other service positions.

“The locals, as I understand it, receive paychecks from oil revenue and don’t really have to work, at least not in the typical service jobs. Maybe that’s not true in every country, but in general, if they are working, it’s more likely to be in business or professional roles, so you’re unlikely to interact with them as a visitor. That’s just one more thing that makes the experience feel kind of watered down – you don’t really get much of a local cultural experience. So, it’s nothing personal against the people,” Gabriel concludes. The digital creator had a rather unnerving encounter in Kuwait City when he was stopped and questioned for filming.

Recalling the incident, Gabriel shared: “I think it was in Kuwait City where I got questioned for filming. I was filming near one of the palaces – or something like that – and I had made a point of not filming one particular place that I thought could be a problem.

“But then I started filming something else, and a security guard waved me over. At that point, you definitely don’t want to run or try to avoid them, because that just makes things worse. So I walked over, and I believe he spoke English. He asked me what I was filming for, asked a few questions, and then let me go. But despite the relatively harmless outcome, it was still a very harrowing experience in the moment – being questioned by an authority figure without knowing how it’s going to play out.”

Reflecting on the potential outcomes of the encounter, Gabriel added: “They could easily say, “I want you to talk to my superior,” and then you’re being taken into some office where they’re suspicious of you and start asking more questions. It’s always a pretty traumatic experience, and it basically makes you want to leave. That’s exactly how I felt afterward-I just hoped I could get out of there without any more hassle. So that was one more drawback.”

UN special rapporteur on right to housing says Palestinians returning to destroyed northern Gaza face ‘profound trauma’.

Israel must allow tents and caravans to immediately be delivered to the Gaza Strip, a United Nations expert says, as displaced Palestinians returning to the north of the bombarded territory have found their homes and neighbourhoods destroyed.

Balakrishnan Rajagopal, the UN special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, said people are finding nothing but rubble in areas from which Israeli forces have withdrawn in northern Gaza.

“The psychological impacts and trauma are profound, and that’s what we are seeing right now as people are returning to northern Gaza,” he told Al Jazeera in an interview on Saturday.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been streaming back into Gaza’s north after Israeli forces pulled back on Friday as part of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to halt the two-year conflict.

Palestinians across the coastal enclave have welcomed the suspension of Israel’s bombardment, which has killed more than 67,700 people since October 2023 and plunged Gaza into a humanitarian crisis.

The UN estimated that 92 percent of all residential buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed since the war began, and hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have been forced to live in tents and other makeshift shelters.

Rajagopal noted that tents and caravans were meant to be delivered to Gaza during a ceasefire early this year but “almost none” of them was allowed in due to Israel’s strict blockade.

“That is really to me the crux of the issue right now. Even immediate relief and aid to the people of Gaza is not possible unless Israel stops controlling all the entry points. That is essential,” the UN expert told Al Jazeera.

Rajagopal, who has used the term “domicide” to describe the decimation of homes across the Strip, said the destruction of housing in Gaza has been a central component of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians.

“The destruction of homes and clearing people from the area and making the area uninhabitable is one of the main ways in which the act of genocide has been committed,” he said, adding that the recovery process will ultimately take generations.

“It’s like another Nakba,” he said, referring to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine when Israel was created in 1948. “What has happened in the last two years is going to be something similar.”

Joint statement comes more than a month after the E3 countries triggered a mechanism reinstating UN sanctions against Iran.

The United Kingdom, France and Germany have said they wish to restart stalled nuclear talks with Iran and the United States, more than a month after the three European countries triggered a mechanism reinstating the United Nations sanctions on Iran for the first time in a decade.

The E3 countries’ joint statement on Friday came nearly two weeks after UN sanctions were reimposed on Iran, under a “snapback” process that the three nations had initiated on August 28 and that became effective one month later.

In response, Iran recalled its envoys to the three European countries for consultations.

Iran has said that, following those revived sanctions, it would not immediately resume nuclear talks.

The sanctions set up a global ban on cooperation with Iran on nuclear, military, banking and shipping industries.

The sanctions are aimed at imposing new economic pain to pressure Iran, but it remains to be seen if all countries will enforce them. On September 27, the day before the sanctions came into effect, Iran’s national currency, the rial, fell to new all-time lows.

In their joint statement, the UK, France and Germany said: “We are determined to reinitiate negotiations with Iran and the United States towards a comprehensive, durable and verifiable agreement that ensures Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon.”

A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Esmaeil Baghaei, said on Monday that “we have no plans for negotiations at this stage”.

He added that Iran was examining the “consequences and implications” of the restart of sanctions.

“Of course, diplomacy – in the sense of maintaining contacts and consultations – will continue,” Baghaei said. “Whenever we feel that diplomacy can be effective, we will certainly make decisions based on the country’s interests and priorities.”

Nuclear fears

Western countries, spearheaded by the US and joined by Israel, accuse Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons – a charge Tehran has long denied.

During a 12-day June conflict, the US bombed nuclear sites in Iran, joining an Israeli air campaign that targeted Iran’s top generals and nuclear scientists, as well as civilians in residential areas. Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles and drones against Israel and sites linked to the US. According to Amnesty International, Israeli attacks on Iran killed at least 1,100 people.

The E3 said in Friday’s statement that “it was right that the snapback mechanism had been triggered”.

“Iran’s nuclear programme poses a serious threat to global peace and security,” the bloc of nations added.

In 2015, the US, along with the E3, Russia and China, concluded an agreement with Iran providing for the regulation of Iranian nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.

US President Donald Trump decided during his first term in 2018 to withdraw the US from the deal and to reinstate US sanctions.

In retaliation, Iran pulled back from some of its commitments, particularly on uranium enrichment.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran is the only country without a nuclear weapons programme to enrich uranium to 60 percent. That is close to the threshold of 90 percent required for a bomb, and well above the far lower level needed for civilian nuclear use.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the United Nations is “prepared to move now” and deliver food, water, medical, and other assistance to Palestinians in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.

Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a ceasefire deal built off United States President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan aimed at ending Israel’s war on Gaza.

“This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line”, Trump said on his Truth Social platform, announcing the ceasefire agreement late on Wednesday.

Under the first phase of the plan, Hamas and other Palestinian factions are required to release 20 Israeli captives held in Gaza who are believed to be alive, and the bodies of 28 others in the Palestinian territory. Israel is required to release more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners it holds in its jails, based on a list shared by Hamas. This includes hundreds of people from Gaza whom Israel has arrested since the start of the war in October 2023.

In a separate phone interview with Fox News on its Hannity programme, Trump said Israeli captives held in Gaza could be released on Monday.

Israel and Hamas subsequently confirmed the agreement, though key differences remain over their interpretations of how Trump’s broader plan is to unfold.

The announcement followed three days of indirect talks between Hamas and Israel in Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. Senior officials from Qatar, Turkiye, Egypt and the US had joined the delegations from Israel and Hamas on Wednesday for those talks.

The ceasefire has not come into force yet, but the announcement of the deal prompted messages of congratulations and hope from regional and world leaders.

Here are some of them:

US President Donald Trump

“I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan,” Trump said on Truth Social, soon after he received a note from Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the middle of a press briefing, telling the president that a deal was close to being struck.

“All Parties will be treated fairly! This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!”

Speaking to Sean Hannity on the phone on Fox News, Trump claimed that the world will see “people getting along and Gaza will be rebuilt”, adding that it is going to be a “different world” and that there will be “wealth spent in Gaza”.

“I’m very confident there’ll be peace in the Middle East.”

Trump has hinted that he might travel to Egypt as soon as this weekend.

“I may go there sometime toward the end of the week, maybe on Sunday,” he told reporters at the White House earlier on Wednesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

“A big day for Israel,” Netanyahu said in a statement from his Jerusalem office.

“Tomorrow I will convene the government to approve the agreement and bring all our dear hostages home,” he said, thanking Israeli soldiers for “their courage and sacrifice”.

He extended his “heartfelt thanks” to Trump and his team “for their dedication to this sacred mission of freeing our hostages”.

“With God’s help, together we will continue to achieve all our goals and expand peace with our neighbors”.

Hamas

“We highly appreciate the efforts of our brothers and mediators in Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, and we also value the efforts of US President Donald Trump aimed at ending the war completely and achieving a full withdrawal of the occupation from the Gaza Strip,” Hamas said in a statement.

“We call on President Trump, the guarantor states of the agreement, and all Arab, Islamic, and international parties to compel the occupation government to fully implement its obligations under the agreement and to prevent it from evading or delaying the implementation of what has been agreed upon.

“We salute our great people in the Gaza Strip, in Jerusalem and the West Bank, and throughout our homeland and the diaspora, who have demonstrated unparalleled honor, courage, and heroism — confronting the fascist occupation projects that targeted them and their national rights. These sacrifices and steadfast positions have thwarted the Israeli occupation’s schemes of subjugation and displacement.

“We affirm that the sacrifices of our people will not be in vain, and that we will remain true to our pledge — never abandoning our people’s national rights until freedom, independence, and self-determination are achieved.”

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

“I welcome the announcement of an agreement to secure a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza, based on the proposal put forward by President Donald J Trump. I commend the diplomatic efforts of the United States, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey in brokering this desperately needed breakthrough,” Guterres said in a statement.

“I urge all concerned to abide fully by the terms of the agreement. All hostages must be released in a dignified manner. A permanent ceasefire must be secured. The fighting must stop once and for all.”

The leader of the UN stressed the need for “immediate and unimpeded entry of humanitarian supplies and essential commercial materials into Gaza” so that the suffering could end.

“The United Nations will support the full implementation of the agreement and will scale up the delivery of sustained and principled humanitarian relief, and we will advance recovery and reconstruction efforts in Gaza,” Guterres added.

He mentioned how the peace talks should be the starting point to “achieving a two-state solution that enables Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security”.

“I urge all stakeholders to seize this momentous opportunity to establish a credible political path forward towards ending the occupation, recognizing the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people … The stakes have never been higher.”

Qatar

Qatar has led mediation efforts to end the war over the past two years. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani headed to Egypt to participate in the ceasefire talks, underscoring the urgency of efforts to end the war.

“The mediators announce that tonight an agreement was reached on all the provisions and implementation mechanisms of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which will lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid,” Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said after the announcement of the ceasefire deal.

Talking about the agreement, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said on X that “details will be announced later”.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer

Starmer urged that the agreement on the first stage of Trump’s plan for Gaza must be implemented in full without delay.

“I welcome the news that a deal has been reached on the first stage of President Trump’s peace plan for Gaza. This agreement must now be implemented in full, without delay, and accompanied by the immediate lifting of all restrictions on life-saving humanitarian aid to Gaza,” he said in a statement.

We welcome the agreement on the first phase of President Trump’s peace plan. This is also a reflection of the strong leadership of PM Netanyahu.

We hope the release of hostages and enhanced humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza will bring respite to them and pave the way…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 9, 2025

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Modi welcomed the first phase agreement, calling it a step towards lasting peace in the region.

“We welcome the agreement on the first phase of President Trump’s peace plan. This is also a reflection of the strong leadership of PM Netanyahu,” Modi said in a post on X.

“We hope the release of hostages and enhanced humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza will bring respite to them and pave the way for lasting peace.”

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters

“Hamas needs to release all of the hostages and Israel must withdraw their troops to the agreed-upon line,” Peters said in a statement.

“This is an essential first step towards achieving lasting peace. We urge Israel and Hamas to continue working towards a complete resolution.”

The Egyptologist and former minister of antiquities will be the first Arab to lead the UN’s cultural organisation.

The board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has nominated Egypt’s Khaled el-Enany, an academic and former minister of tourism and antiquities, as its next head, ahead of the organisation’s general conference next month.

If confirmed, el-Enany, a professor of Egyptology at Cairo’s Helwan University, would become the first Arab director-general of the organisation, which oversees the UN’s handling of cultural heritage, alongside international cooperation efforts in other areas including science and education.

The former minister campaigned widely for the role, which was also contested by Firmin Edouard Matoko of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Gabriela Ramos of Mexico, who withdrew from the race earlier this year.

The decision by the board, which represents 58 of the agency’s 194 member states, is expected to be finalised at a meeting of UNESCO’s general assembly in Uzbekistan next month.

The organisation’s next leader will replace France’s former Minister of Culture Audrey Azoulay who has served in the role since 2017.

Azoulay notably helped lead a high-profile effort to rebuild the ancient Iraqi city of Mosul after it was devastated during fighting between the ISIL (ISIS) armed group and combined US and Iraqi forces.

El-Enany’s nomination comes as the Paris-based UN body continues to face political challenges, including in its work of choosing which cultural heritage sites to help preserve from threats including wars, pollution and climate change.

The organisation is also set to face an eight percent funding cut at the end of 2026, when the United States again formally withdraws its membership, along with its funding.

It will be the second time that the Trump administration has pulled the US out from the UN cultural organisation in protest at its members’ decision to admit the State of Palestine as a member in 2011.

The State of Palestine is also a Permanent Observer State member of the United Nations General Assembly, where more than 80 percent of member states now back its full membership.

Explaining the US decision to withdraw again, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce claimed that allowing Palestine to remain a member of UNESCO had “contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organisation.”

Israel left UNESCO at the end of 2018.

The organisation has been remotely monitoring damage to cultural heritage sites in the Gaza Strip during Israel’s war, and says that it has verified damage to a total of 110 sites since October 7, 2023, including 13 religious sites, 77 buildings of historical or artistic interest, three depositories of movable cultural property, nine monuments, one museum and seven archeological sites.

El-Enani, 54, worked earlier in his career as a tour guide at ancient Egyptian sites, earned a doctorate in France and became a famed Egyptologist prior to serving in government.

He was minister of antiquities, and later tourism, under Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi from 2016 to 2022.

El-Sisi welcomed the news of el-Enani’s nomination, calling the nomination a ‘’historic achievement that shall be added to Egypt’s diplomatic and cultural record and to the achievements of the Arab and African peoples.”

During his tenure in government, el-Enani oversaw the start of mega-tourism projects including the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation in Cairo, the Jewish Temple and multiple ancient discoveries that helped revive the country’s battered tourism sector.

He is expected to focus on UNESCO’s cultural programs, and has pledged to continue UNESCO’s work to fight anti-Semitism and religious intolerance according to the Associated Press news agency.

Iranian FM warns that Europe has ‘eliminated justification for talks’ with UN nuclear watchdog after triggering snapback sanctions.

Iran’s foreign minister has declared that cooperation with the United Nations nuclear watchdog is “no longer relevant” after Western countries reinstated international sanctions on the country.

“The Cairo agreement is no longer relevant for our cooperation with the IAEA,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday, referring to a deal signed last month with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

That agreement had laid out a framework for renewed inspections and monitoring after Tehran suspended cooperation following Israeli and United States attacks on its nuclear facilities in June.

However, the deal lost significance after Britain, France and Germany – all signatories to the 2015 nuclear accord – triggered the return of UN sanctions, accusing Iran of breaching its commitments, claims which Tehran has rejected.

“The three European countries thought they had leverage in their hands, threatening to implement a snapback,” Araghchi told foreign diplomats in Tehran. “Now they have used this lever and seen the results. The three European countries have definitely diminished their role and almost eliminated the justification for negotiations with them.”

He added that the European trio “will have a much smaller role than in the past” in any future talks over Iran’s nuclear programme.

Double standards

Tehran has accused the IAEA of double standards, saying the agency failed to condemn Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites despite its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Western states, led by the US and supported by Israel, have long accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons – allegations Tehran strongly denies. Iran insists its programme is purely civilian and that it retains the right to enrich uranium under the NPT.

Some Iranian lawmakers have suggested withdrawing from the NPT altogether, though President Masoud Pezeshkian has maintained that Iran will remain committed to its treaty obligations.

Araghchi said Tehran’s “decision regarding cooperation with the agency will be announced”, without elaborating, but noted that “there is still room for diplomacy”.

Talks between Iran and the US that began in April to revive a broader nuclear agreement collapsed after Israeli attacks in June targeted Iranian nuclear, military and residential sites.

Tehran has since accused Washington of sabotaging diplomacy and demanded guarantees and recognition of its rights before any potential resumption of negotiations.

Iran has repeatedly denied seeking a nuclear weapon, while Israel is widely believed to possess an undeclared nuclear arsenal of dozens of atomic bombs.

The United States’s 20-point plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza is not the same as the draft proposed by a group of Arab and Muslim countries, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said.

“I made it clear that the 20 points that President (Donald) Trump made public are not ours. Changes were made to our draft. I have the record,” Dar said, speaking to politicians on Friday, according to remarks carried by Dawn news.

His comments come after the White House on Monday released a plan with fanfare that would include a ceasefire, the return of all captives, Hamas disarmament, and a new political architecture for post-war Gaza – one that would exclude the Palestinian group.

Its release came a few minutes before Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood next to each other at the White House to announce the plan. There, Trump told Hamas it had 72 hours to accept the proposal. On Tuesday, he gave the Palestinian group three to four days to agree to the plan.

Meanwhile, Hamas political bureau member Mohammad Nazzal told Al Jazeera on Thursday that the group was discussing Trump’s plan and would soon announce its position on the proposal. “We are not dealing [with the plan] under the logic that time is a sword pointed at our neck,” Nazzal said.

The published document was presented as a joint effort between Israel, the US and a number of Arab and Muslim countries. Last week, several leaders from the Arab and Muslim world discussed the plan at a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

But while there are no official records of what was discussed at that mini-summit, Axios reported that the proposal announced by the American and Israeli leaders earlier this week contained “significant changes”, requested by Netanyahu, to the draft that had been agreed on by the Arab leaders and Trump.

The amendments were made during a six-hour meeting between Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Netanyahu, the report said. The revised version ties Israel’s withdrawal to Hamas’s disarmament and allows Israel – after a withdrawal in stages – to remain within a buffer zone inside the enclave until there are no risks of any “terror threat”, it added.

A group of eight Arab and Muslim countries, including Pakistan, Qatar, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia, welcomed Trump’s announcement in a joint statement.

Qatar has said that it agrees with the aims of the plan, and seeks further discussions on its details.

“If we speak of the main objectives, there are objectives that it [the US plan] achieves, such as ending the war, and there are things that need clarification, which certainly need discussions and negotiations,” Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani told Al Jazeera.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty also said that more talks were needed. According to the US proposal, an international body chaired by Trump would have oversight, while a Palestinian technocratic committee would handle civilian governance until the Palestinian Authority reforms itself. To take care of security, according to the proposal, a stabilisation force would be deployed.

“There are a lot of holes that need to be filled; we need more discussions on how to implement it, especially on two important issues – governance and security arrangements,” Abdelatty said on Thursday.

Experts pointed out that there are sticking points. There are questions on whether Hamas will agree to disarm since it has repeatedly said it would not, as the main face of Palestinian armed resistance.

The current proposal also nods vaguely at how reforms may open a pathway to Palestinian statehood, which is not recognised as a right but as the “aspiration of the Palestinian people”.

The plan does not mention the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza – a significant shift from Trump’s earlier lambasted position when he suggested the relocation of the population outside the enclave to turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East”, which was heavily criticised as ethnic cleansing.

It also ruled out the occupation of Gaza and the annexation of the occupied West Bank – actions that Netanya’s far-right coalition members are pushing for.

Should Hamas refuse the deal, Trump ominously told Netanyahu, “You will have our full backing to do what you have to do.”

New York – Members of the Rohingya community who fled violence in Myanmar have addressed a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) conference seeking to bring attention to the suffering of the persecuted Muslim minority, as fighting continues in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

Maung Sawyeddollah, the founder of the Rohingya Student Network, addressed his fellow Rohingya in a livestreamed speech in the vast UNGA hall in New York City on Tuesday, telling them: “Dear brothers and sisters, you are not forgotten. You might feel that the world doesn’t see your suffering. Rohingya see you.”

“Now this message is for the world leaders and the United Nations: It has already been more than eight years since the Rohingya genocide was exposed. Where is justice for the Rohingya? Where?” Sawyeddollah asked.

He then held up a photograph of the bodies of several people lying in a river, who he said had been killed in a drone attack by Myanmar’s rebel Arakan Army in August 2024.

“These are not isolated cases; they are part of a systematic campaign,” said Sawyeddollah, a student who spent seven years in Cox’s Bazar refugee camp in southeastern Bangladesh after fleeing Myanmar in 2017.

“Why is there no prevention of these inhumane atrocities by Arakan Army?” he asked.

Wai Wai Nu, the executive director of the Women’s Peace Network-Myanmar, who also addressed the high-level UNGA meeting, told Al Jazeera that the event was a “historic moment”, which she hoped would “draw the attention back to the UN on the issue of Rohingya”.

Wai Wai Nu used her speech to highlight several pressing priorities, including that humanitarian aid has been blocked from flowing to Rakhine State, where Rohingya communities are located, an issue she said was discussed on the sidelines of the conference.

“If we get this, the conference is worth it,” she said.

“We need to save Rohingya inside Rakhine state.”

I delivered opening remarks at the #UN General Assembly conference on the Rohingya and other minorities in Myanmar this morning.

I urged ending impunity, immediate action to protect the #Rohingya, advancing justice,& addressing root causes for lasting solutions.#UNGA80 #Myanmar pic.twitter.com/PtSqCf2afM

— Wai Wai Nu (@waiwainu) September 30, 2025

Nu also told Al Jazeera that “many member states also emphasised or highlighted addressing the root causes, and advancing justice and accountability”, in their speeches.

However, she added, the UN event also illustrated that a “coherent and cohesive approach” to finding a solution to the Rohingya crisis is “lacking leadership and coordination, including in the ASEAN region“, a grouping of states in Southeast Asia.

She also told Al Jazeera that it was important for countries to implement targeted sanctions on Myanmar and “all the perpetrators, including military and other armed sectors, including Arakan Army”, as well as a “global arms embargo” to protect the Rohingya.

‘Massive aid cuts’

Speaking on behalf of the UN secretary-general, Chef de Cabinet Earle Courtenay Rattray, told the meeting of UN member states that “massive aid cuts” have further worsened conditions for the Rohingya, including more than 1 million who fled ethnic cleansing by the military in Myanmar and who have sought refuge in neighbouring Bangladesh.

“In the past 18 months alone, 150,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh, which has generously kept its borders open and given them refuge,” Rattray said.

Yet, while Rattray said Bangladesh has shown “remarkable hospitality and generosity”, the chief adviser of Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus, said his country is struggling to continue assisting Rohingya refugees, eight years into the crisis.

“Eight years since the genocide began, the plight of the Rohingya continues,” said Yunus, who jointly convened the meeting as well as another similar summit in Cox’s Bazar last month, to try to bring attention back to the plight of the Rohingya in Myanmar and Bangladesh.

“Bangladesh is a victim of the crisis,” said Yunus.

“We are forced to bear huge financial, social and environmental costs,” he said.

“As funding declines, the only peaceful option is to begin their repatriation.”

“The Rohingya have consistently pronounced their desire to go back home”, he said, adding that “as an immediate step, those who recently crossed into Bangladesh escaping conflict must be allowed to repatriate”.

Yunus also told the meeting that, unlike Thailand, Bangladesh could not offer work rights to Rohingya, given his own country’s “developmental challenges, including unemployment and poverty”.

Charles Harder, the United States special envoy for best future generations, was among several speakers to thank Bangladesh and Thailand for hosting Rohingya refugees.

He also announced that the US would “provide more than $60m in assistance for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh”, which he said would be tied to Bangladesh making “meaningful” changes to allow access to work.

But funding refugees in Bangladesh was “not a burden the United States will bear indefinitely”, he said.

“It is long past time for other governments and actors in the region to develop sustainable solutions for Rohingya,” Harder said.

About 50 other UN member states also addressed the meeting on Tuesday, although few announced specific measures they were taking, aside from the United Kingdom, which announced $36m in aid for Rohingya refugees.

Dawda Jallow, The Gambia’s minister of justice, also addressed the meeting, saying that his country hopes to see a judgement from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) “soon after” an oral hearing scheduled for January next year on its case accusing Myanmar of perpetrating genocide against its Rohingya population.

“We filed our case in November 2019, almost six years ago. Now, we are preparing for the oral hearing on the merits in this case, which the court has scheduled for mid-January 2026,” Jallow said.

“The Gambia will present its case as to why Myanmar is responsible for the Rohingya genocide and must make reparations to its victims,” he added.

The United Nations Security Council has voted to expand an international security force deployed to Haiti and transform it into a so-called “Gang Suppression Force”.

The resolution passed by the council on Tuesday provides a clear mandate for the force to work with local authorities to “neutralise, isolate, and deter” gangs, secure infrastructure, and seek to secure institutional stability. It would raise the personnel ceiling from 2,500 in the current mission, first approved in 2023, to 5,550 personnel.

The resolution also requests that the UN secretary-general establish a UN Support Office in Haiti to provide increased logistical support amid the Caribbean nation’s overlapping security, humanitarian and political crises.

“The result today allows us to have the necessary reconfiguration on the ground in order to face the gangs and, therefore, address the insecurity situation in the country,” Panama’s Representative to the UN Eloy Alfaro De Alba said following the vote.

“Today, we say to Haiti that, once and for all, you are not alone,” Alfaro De Alba said.

Panama and the United States first introduced the latest resolution in August. It passed on Tuesday with 12 votes in favour and none against. Permanent Security Council members China and Russia, along with rotating member Pakistan, abstained from the vote.

Following the vote, Russian envoy Vassily Nebenzia said “the tools of international assistance to Haiti” previously approved by the Security Council had “failed to produce any sustainable results”.

He criticised the resolution for having a “virtually unrestricted mandate to use force against anyone and everyone labelled with the vague term ‘gangs’”, while further calling the plan “ill-conceived and rushed”.

Haiti has a controversial history when it comes to foreign intervention, particularly in light of rampant sexual abuses committed by peacekeepers deployed in the wake of Haiti’s 2010 earthquake. The forces were also responsible for a cholera outbreak that killed about 10,000 people.

But speaking last week, during the United Nations General Assembly General Debate, Laurent Saint-Cyr, the current chairman of the Transitional Presidential Council of Haiti, voiced support for a new force, noting that the Kenyan-led security support mission deployed for more than 15 months in the country remains woefully understaffed and underfunded.

Fewer than 1,000 police officers have been deployed under the mission, which is officially set to end on October 2, despite an initial pledge of 2,500. Nearly all of the capital, Port au Prince, remains under the control of powerful gangs.

“It is a war between criminals who want to impose violence as the social order and an unarmed population struggling to preserve human dignity,” Saint-Cyr said.

According to the UN, at least 1.3 million Haitians remain internally displaced due to violence, with 5.7 million facing food insecurity. At least 3,100 people have been killed in violent incidents between January and June 2025. At least 2,300 grave violations against children have been recorded.

The country is also in the midst of a political crisis that began with the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021. A general election has been repeatedly postponed amid the unrest.

On Tuesday, acting Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime hailed the resolution’s passage.

“This decision marks a major step forward in the partnership between Haiti and the international community,” he said.

Rights observers have also offered tentative support for a renewed international mission to Haiti, with Human Rights Watch saying any operation must have adequate funding and human rights protections.

The resolution passed on Tuesday does not provide specific details on such safeguards, including clear rules of engagement, saying instead that parties must work to establish those rules in line with “Haiti’s sovereignty and in strict compliance with international law”.

Like the Kenyan-led mission, the new Gang Suppression Force will also mostly rely on often unpredictable voluntary contributions from UN members.

In a statement following the vote, Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, said: “After months of reckless inaction, the UN Security Council has finally taken a step to respond to Haiti’s devastating crisis”.

“For the newly created ‘Gang Suppression Force’ to be effective and avoid repeating past abuses, it should have sustained and predictable funding, sufficient personnel, and robust human rights safeguards,” Goebertus said.

The move adds pressure on the UK government, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, which has been slammed over its stance on the Gaza war.

Members of the United Kingdom’s Labour Party have voted to recognise that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, in a move that increases pressure on the UK government to adopt the same position.

Delegates at Labour’s party conference approved an emergency motion backing the findings of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry, which earlier this month concluded that Israel “has committed genocide”. The vote was strongly supported by trade unions.

The decision contrasts with Labour leader and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as well as senior ministers, who have argued that the question of genocide should be determined by international courts rather than politicians.

Israel is facing a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague in which it is accused of committing genocide.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy reaffirmed that stance following the conference vote.

“That means that it must be for the ICJ with their judges and judiciary, and for the ICC, to determine the issue of genocide in relation to the convention. It is not for politicians like me to do that,” he said, adding that he believed in “the rules-based order”.

In a rare appearance at the United Nations, North Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son Gyong staunchly defended the country’s nuclear programme. It was the first time North Korea had dispatched an official from Pyongyang to address the UN General Assembly since 2018.

As world leaders talked about acting against Israel at the UN General Assembly, more than 360 Palestinians in Gaza were killed, with many more injured, starved and displaced by the ongoing genocide. Israel has killed 66,000 Palestinians since October 7, 2023.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned NATO and the EU at the UN General Assembly that any aggression against Russia would be met with a ‘decisive response’. While asserting that Moscow has no intention of attacking the West, he emphasised that Russia is prepared to respond if provoked.

The UN has reimposed sanctions on Iran, a decade after they were lifted as part of the nuclear agreement called the JCPOA. European powers led the move, accusing Iran of non-compliance with the deal.

New York City – Thousands of New Yorkers joined world diplomats in giving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the cold shoulder as he spoke at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

Protesters on Friday morning rallied against the Israeli prime minister on the streets of New York City as dozens of delegates marched out of the UN Assembly hall when he began his speech on the fourth day of the General Debate.

And blocks away, diplomats representing countries across the world were meeting as part of the Hague Group to discuss taking concrete measures against Israel, including sanctions, for its nearly two-year assault on Gaza.

Al-Sharif Nassef, who was participating in the New York protest, said it was a “shame” that Netanyahu was in the city instead of The Hague to answer to his alleged war crimes at the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant for him last year.

“All the New Yorkers who are here today support his arrest. He is not welcome here,” Nassef told Al Jazeera.

“And Inshallah [God willing], under the new mayorship, he will be arrested as soon as he steps forward in New York City.”

Earlier this month, New York Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamadani promised to enforce the ICC’s arrest warrant against Netanyahu. But the US is not a party to the tribunal, so it is not clear whether the New York Police Department has the legal power to detain the Israeli prime minister.

‘Is baby formula Hamas?’

After Netanyahu finished his speech, protesters marched from Times Square to a park near the UN complex on the East River.

They waved Palestinian flags and chanted “free Palestine” and “arms embargo now” as the demonstration snaked through the streets amid heavy police presence.

Some demonstrators also displayed the flags of Colombia and Ireland – two countries that have been vocal in their support for Palestinians.

Nasreen Issa, a member of the Palestine Youth Movement – NYC, which helped organise the march, said the large turnout sends a message that it is “unacceptable” for the US to roll out the red carpet for Netanyahu.

Issa said that demonstrations work even if their effects are not immediately felt.

“Protests play an important role in generating the political will that can make real change happen,” the activist told Al Jazeera.

Meagan Fredette held a cardboard sign that said, “Is baby formula Hamas???” to highlight the Israeli restrictions on basic food items in Gaza, which have plunged the territory into deadly famine, according to a UN-backed monitor.

Fredette said she feels “disgusted” as a New Yorker that Netanyahu is in her city.

“I feel angry. It’s embarrassing that he’s here. He doesn’t deserve to be here,” she told Al Jazeera. “He’s a literal, wanted criminal. New Yorkers were not happy that he’s here.”

As the demonstrators arrived outside the security perimeter at the UN, they encountered about a dozen counterprotesters waving Israeli flags.

But law enforcement officers separated the two sets of protesters and confined the small pro-Israel rally to a barricaded area.

When a man with an Israeli flag started shouting obscenities at the anti-Netanyahu demonstrators, the police quickly intervened and ordered him to move away from the protest.

Broadcasting Netanyahu’s speech through Palestinian phones

Inside the UN General Assembly hall earlier, Netanyahu addressed a room that was partly emptied by the walkout, and he received applause that came only from one area on the upper level of the room.

Asked whether the people clapping for Netanyahu were guests of the Israeli mission, Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, only said, “Every delegation is allowed to bring in guests.”

Netanyahu’s office said on X that the prime minister had ordered the hacking of the phones of Palestinians in Gaza to stream his speech on the devices.

“In an unprecedented action, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu … has announced that the [Israeli military] took control of the telephones of Gaza residents and Hamas members, and that his speech is now being broadcast live via the telephones,” the post said.

His office also posted on social media that the Israeli military broadcast the address on a loudspeaker to the starving and beleaguered population of the territory.

Al Jazeera asked Dujarric for a reaction to a UN function being used as a tool to taunt an entire population, but he declined to respond.

“I have no specific comment on that,” the spokesperson said.

“I think the focus should be on alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people, getting more humanitarian aid in, and getting the hostages out,” Dujarric added.

Israel has killed more than 65,500 people in Gaza, including approximately 20,000 children, and turned nearly the entire territory into rubble.

The UNGA is meeting this year amid growing international anger at Israel’s conduct. Several Western countries that are traditionally allied with Israel recognised the state of Palestine during the assembly.

Hague group meeting

On Friday, diplomats from 24 countries – part of the Hague Group, which aims to halt the war on Gaza – called for action to stop the atrocities beyond statements and symbolism.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, urged tangible moves against Israel, including sanctions.

“We are out of time because if we fail to act, children are killed,” Mansour told a Hague Group meeting.

“Palestinian children are killed, starved, orphaned, burned and traumatised, families are shattered, life is destroyed, lands are stolen and territories are annexed.”

Mansour also called for international support for South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

The meeting included representatives from Colombia, South Africa, Qatar, Turkiye, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Ireland, Spain and Uruguay.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira warned against failing to stop Israeli atrocities.

“International law requires states not only to refrain from committing genocide, but also to prevent it. Failure to do so may give rise to state responsibility, including for complicity in genocide,” he said.

“Time has come for States to fulfil their obligations under the Genocide Convention by adopting effective measures to ensure that they do not, directly or indirectly, collaborate with its perpetrators.”

Prime Minister of Malta Robert Abela spoke of the youngest victims of Israel’s war in Gaza who are given medical treatment in his country.

UN delegates walked out as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to the podium at the UN General Assembly. Other world leaders condemned Israel’s genocide in Gaza, while a further 10 countries have recognised Palestinian statehood. Observers say Israel has never been more diplomatically isolated.