Trump to return to the United Nations as Gaza, Ukraine conflicts rage

18/9/2025 6:39

World leaders gather in New York next week for a U.N. General Assembly dominated by U.S. President Donald Trump's return to the rostrum, war in Gaza

and Ukraine, rising Western recognition of Palestinian statehood and nuclear tensions with Iran.



"We are gathering in turbulent – even uncharted – waters," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said a week before the 193-member world body hosts six days of speeches by nearly 150 heads of state or government along with dozens more ministers.



"Geopolitical divides widening. Conflicts raging. Impunity escalating. Our planet overheating," he told reporters on Tuesday. "And international cooperation is straining under pressures unseen in our lifetimes."



Headlining this year's 80th General Assembly will be Trump, who calls for slashing U.S. funding for the U.N., stopped U.S. engagement with the U.N. Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA and quit the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization.