Inter Press Service, Sept. 1, 2026, By Thalif Deen, Quotes Zunes, who said the makeup of the Security Council, having the headquarters of the United Nations located in the United States, is an outdated relic of World War II. For most of the UN’s history the United States has vetoed far more otherwise-unanimous UNSC resolutions than any other country. And Washington has repeatedly reneged on its financial obligations. Under both Republican and Democratic administrations, said Dr Zunes, the U.S. has repeatedly attacked UN institutions, including its judicial bodies, humanitarian organizations, and investigative commissions, particularly in regard to the enforcement of international humanitarian law. “The U.S. wars on Iraq and Iran and the U.S. recognition of Israeli and Moroccan annexations of territories seized by military force have underscored a brazen disregard for the foundational principles of the UN Charter… And the refusal to allow a delegation of a permanent observer member state (Palestine) is a direct violation of the U.S.-UN agreement making New York the world body’s headquarters. Despite this, there are certainly major logistical, financial, and institutional reasons why it would not make sense for the United Nations to remove its headquarters from New York. The very fact that it is even being discussed, however, is indicative that the United States is increasingly becoming an international pariah and an ironic choice as the host nation,” declared Dr Zunes.
Category: Inter Press Service
Inter Press Service, UN
Interview: US Casualty Figures Keep Fluctuating in War with Iran
Inter Press Service (IPS), July 31, 2026:
Zunes told IPS many thousands of Iranians, Lebanese, and others have been killed as a result of the U.S. war on Iran but Americans–as in previous wars–tend to focus on U.S. casualties. Though they have thankfully been limited, the 18 fatalities and more than 600 wounded–some of them seriously–have become a major focus of war opponents.
Trump has tried to downplay and manipulate these figures by comparing the casualties with other U.S. wars which included significant ground operations, claiming without evidence that the dead soldiers strongly supported the war, and undercounting those wounded by initially only listing those with severe injuries, said Zunes.
More recently, he pointed out, the administration was caught placing those killed and wounded, subsequent to the collapse of the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran, in a separate category than those killed and wounded during the first phase of the war, thereby lessening the overall total.
“Such efforts are only strengthening antiwar sentiment in Washington and elsewhere, adding to the upset by veterans and others over Trump’s draft dodging during the Vietnam War and his insults of those who fought in unpopular conflicts, including war heroes.”
During his 2016 campaign against Hillary Clinton, and to a somewhat lesser extent in his 2024 campaign against Kamala Harris, he portrayed himself as the antiwar candidate who opposed Democrats’ “forever wars” and who as a president would “bring our troops home.” As U.S. casualties in the Middle East mount, his credibility will only be eroded further, declared Zunes.
20 Interviews: May-June 2026, Iran related
Below are links to various radio, television, and podcast interviews about the U.S., Iran, and related issues during May and June 2026:
* A 28-minutes with David Swanson’s Talk World Radio
* A 20-minutes with Kris Welch on KPFA-FM, starting at 38:40
* Hour-long interview for the Scholars Circle on the war
on Lebanon with Yeghia Tashjian and Ervand Abrahamian
* Two recent segments for an Indian network news show:
June 18, beginning at 5:20 & June 2, starting at 4:25
* On a Singapore television news channel
* On a Singapore radio news channel
* Two short interviews on KPFA-FM News, Pacifica:
June 14, starting at 2 mins. & May 24, starting 2:28
* For KTVU News (one of the Bay Area network affiliates):
June 18: https://ktvu.com/video/fmc-sv3bvh10vi4mon19.amp
June 8: https://bit.ly/3RVvpr6
June 7: https://bit.ly/43n9zze
June 1: https://bit.ly/43UizvR
May 28: https://bit.ly/4egHjmR
May 25: https://bit.ly/3QcXklR
May 19: https://youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=J7tH8nNmCJI&ra=m
May 13: https://bit.ly/43p5U3R
May 9: https://archive.tveyes.com/18120/531666-150162/dfd53d40-1c93-45d8-9a79-ad2dd615c0c5/KTVU_04-20-2026_16.30.43.mp4
Also, two much older analyses were depressingly prescient:
* A 50-minute documentary from 2012 in which I and a dozen other scholars and analysts critique the U.S. threat of War with Iran: https://youtube.com/watch?v=yoITyAobBMI
* A 2006 interview I did with Foaad Khosmood on U.S. policy towards Iran and the possibility of war: https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-shift-in-iran-policy-by-stephen-zunes/
Quoted: Will US Opposition to UN’s Socio-Economic Goals Play a Decisive Role in the Vote for Next Secretary-General?
Inter Press Service [UN] June 18, 2026
Zunes is quoted in this analysis on the influence Trump will have on the choosing of the next UN Secretary General. He told IPS under both Democratic and Republican administrations, the United States has blocked the election of candidates for Secretary General, even when they had the support of the fourteen other members of the Security Council. “Given how Trump has been even more prone to attack the United Nations and bully member states, including ostensible U.S. allies, it is likely that the United States will make it even more difficult this round for the UN to choose its next administrator.”
Quote: US Aims at Heavy Staff & Budgetary Cuts, Seeks to Launch Cost-Saving Artificial Intelligence at UN meetings
Inter Press Service News, United Nations, April 6, 2026:
Stephen Zunes told IPS this is not about cost-cutting or fiscal responsibility. “Like cutbacks to important U.S. government agencies and domestic programs, the Trump administration appears determined to dismantle the system itself.” This should be understood in the context of pulling out of international organizations and treaties, the establishment of the so-called “Board of Peace,” the Iran War, and the recently announced dramatic increases in military spending—it is about undermining international legal institutions and replacing them with an imperial order backed by raw military force, said Zunes.
Interview: Is the US Planning to Throw a Lifeline to a Sinking UN?
Inter Press Service, UNITED NATIONS, Feb 6 2026 (IPS)
Zunes is quoted about U.S. efforts to undermine the United Nations.
Dr. Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, told IPS on the one hand, the United States has been in arrears in its payments to the United Nations quite a bit in recent years, but the UN has managed to get by. However, the extent of the Trump administration’s cutbacks and the ways they are being targeted at particularly vulnerable programs has resulted in this unprecedented fiscal crisis. “The hostility of the Trump administration to the United Nations is extreme. Trump has made clear he believes there should be no legal restraints on the conduct of U.S. foreign policy, so it is not surprising he would seek to undermine the world’s primary institution mandated with supporting international law and world order,” declared Dr Zunes.
Is US Moving Towards UN’s Exit Door?
Inter Press Service by Thalif Deen, United Nations, Jan 13 2026 (quotes Zunes): “The Trump administration, however, appears to be rejecting the post-WWII international legal system as a whole. His statements, particularly since the attack on Venezuela, appear to be a throwback to the 19th-century imperial prerogatives and a rejection of modern international law.”
“As a result, it is possible that Trump could indeed pull the United States out of the United Nations and force the UN out of New York.”
The Only Remaining Colony in Africa Continues its Struggle for Independence
Inter Press Service, October 30, 2025, By Thalif Deen
[quoting Stephen Zunes; source link]
Described as a non-self-governing territory in northwestern Africa fighting for decolonization, Western Sahara is the last African colonial state yet to achieve independence… A former Spanish colony, it was annexed by Morocco in 1975… On October 30, the UN Security Council is scheduled to vote on a draft resolution on the future of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).
US Threatens UN Members Seeking Two-State Solution to Israeli-Palestine Conflict
Inter Press Service, UN June 13 2025 (IPS) By Thalif Deen [source]
Zunes quoted on the extreme efforts the Trump administration is taking to prevent the emergence of even a Palestinian mini-state alongside Israel, including threats of “diplomatic consequences” against countries if they attend a UN conference on a two-state solution
France to Break Away from UK and US While Recognizing Palestine as a Nation State
Inter Press Service, UN April 18, 2025, Quoted by Thalif Deen [source]
“Dr. Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, who has written extensively on the politics of the UN, told IPS it is rather bizarre that State Department spokesperson Bruce would bring up Hamas, which is a rebel Palestinian group openly challenging the internationally-recognized government of the Palestine Authority (PA), in a question about recognition of the state of Palestine.
And the PA, he pointed out, had nothing to do with the October 7 terrorist attacks. It is revealing, however, that she emphasized the so-called Abraham Accords, which are designed to get Arab states to unilaterally recognize Israel instead of doing so in return for Israel ending the occupation and allowing for an independent Palestine, which has historically been the position of Arab governments.
Putting Bruce’s bizarre response aside, however, the Trump administration’s policy is not that different from that of the Biden administration. Biden, like Trump, opposed any recognition of Palestine by the United Nations or any member state.
One year ago, under Biden, the United States vetoed an otherwise-unanimous UN Security Council resolution recommending full membership for Palestine. It even claimed the International Criminal Court had no jurisdiction regarding war crimes committed from or on Palestinian territory because Palestine was not a state.
The United States has long insisted that the only way a Palestinian state should be recognized was under terms agreed to by the Israeli government, despite the fact that the Israeli government has categorically ruled out Palestinian statehood, declared Dr Zunes…”
UN Faces Backlash from a Hostile White House
Inter Press Service UN Bureau Report, Jan 30 2025
Dr. Zunes is quoted extensively in this report:
“No leader of a major power since the UN’s founding in 1945 has expressed such disdain for fundamental principles of international law.” It should be remembered, though, that the United States was already undermining such principles under previous administrations, he pointed out. For example, even under (former US President Joe) Biden, the United States recognized Israel’s illegal annexation of the Golan Heights and Morocco’s illegal annexation of Western Sahara, both seized by military force in contravention to unanimous UN Security Council resolutions. Hostility towards UN agencies isn’t new either, said Dr Zunes… [source]