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the makeup of the Security Council, having the headquarters of the United Nations located in the United States, is an outdated relic of World War II.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.
The Nation, August 3, 2026: What was behind the border crisis in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. Did the Israeli and US hostility toward Spain embolden Morocco to think it could get away with creating a border control crisis?
Institute for Public Accuracy News Release, July 20, 2026, quotes Zunes: “In accepting generous subsidies from the Moroccan regime, the film’s producers have provided legitimacy to the illegal occupation. It would be the equivalent of filming in Israeli or Russian-occupied territories in collaboration with those governments. Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, and other human rights groups have ranked Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara as among the most politically repressed nations in the world. Since any protest within the occupied territory is not tolerated, it is imperative that global civil society mobilize against this injustice.”
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.”
Counterpunch, April 27, 2026: by Bill Fletcher Jr. – Stephen Zunes. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), along with Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Rick Scott R-FL), have introduced a bill targeting what they call the “Iranian Regime’s Polisario Front,” designating that popular North African nationalist movement as a “terrorist organization”… Since the early 1970s, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro (Frente Polisario) has led a fight initially for independence from Spain and subsequently for freedom from Morocco’s efforts to forcibly annex the territory. The Polisario is a moderate secular movement whose leadership is democratically elected by refugees…
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.
Counterpunch, March 10, 2026, by Daniel Falcone (quotes Zunes):
Stephen Zunes remarked just after the attack, “An Omani mediator said a nuclear agreement with Iran was within reach [and] in response, the United States and Israel started bombing… schools, hospitals, city parks, and cultural sites are being targeted in the United States and Israeli bombing of Tehran… This is not a preemptive war. A preemptive war is in response to an imminent attack. This is a war of aggression. A flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter.” Alarmingly, Trump stated over a month before the invasion that “I don’t need international law,” as he currently creates new norms. Zunes previously stated, “this war isn’t about nonproliferation, it’s about inflicting as much damage as possible on a country that isn’t willing to accept U.S. hegemony in the region.”
Global Monitoring Center, March 5, 2026:
Zunes is first of three panelists at this forum critically examining Morocco’s so-called “autonomy” proposal for the nation of Western Sahara, which it invaded, occupied, and illegally annexed in 1975. The US and several European governments are supporting this dubious proposal despite its contravention of international law.
Truthout, March 4, 2026, by Stephen Zunes [podcast]: Many of President Trump’s stated justifications for the US and Israeli war on Iran are demonstrably false… Much of it has to do with what was perceived as an opportunity. The Iranian regime has never been more isolated [and] U.S. hostility toward an independent-minded Iran has been a major component of U.S. foreign policy for decades, regardless of Israel…