UNITED NATIONS: Romania’s foreign minister told Fox News Digital that Bucharest answered the Trump administration’s call for allied support in the Middle East by allowing the use of Romanian military bases for "defensive activities" related to tensions with Iran and efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

"We have allowed for access to defensive activities, such as air refueling, for example, because we do believe allies need to rely on each other," Romania’s interim Foreign Affairs Minister Oana-Silvia Ţoiu said in an exclusive interview at the United Nations.

"We’re not part of the war, nor do we intend to become part of war, but we are part of an effort to ensure common defense, and we are a part of a diplomatic effort to ensure the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz," she said.

Ţoiu’s comments come as President Donald Trump has repeatedly pressed European allies to increase defense spending and take a larger role in global security efforts, including maritime security in the Middle East.

NATO LEADERS PREDICT ERA OF 2% DEFENSE SPENDING 'PROBABLY HISTORY' AS TRUMP REPORTEDLY FLOATS HIGHER TARGET

Ţoiu acknowledged growing tensions between Washington and some European allies over support related to the conflict with Iran, but said both sides recognize the need for closer coordination.

"I’m pretty sure that both on the U.S. side and the European side, we do understand that we need to enhance our dialog in order to prevent moments when we create tension in the transatlantic partnership," she told Fox News Digital. "And I do believe a better dialog ahead of time on all sides leads to better results, specifically on the request of help in terms of the conflict in the Middle East."

The Romanian foreign minister said Bucharest approved the use of its military bases and infrastructure for defensive operations linked to regional security efforts.

"Romania has approved through Parliament the proposal of the President, the ministry of foreign affairs and the ministry for defense and the prime minister, the use of our military bases and infrastructure for defensive activities, for activities such as air-fuelling, for example, because we are aware of the fact that it is needed that we trust each other," she said.

"I think we share clear objectives here in Europe, between the U.S. and countries around the world, such as lowering energy prices, such as allowing for fertilizers not to be blocked anymore there."

MIKE WALTZ PUSHES UN RESOLUTION TO STOP IRAN MINING KEY GLOBAL SHIPPING ROUTE

Romania, a NATO member bordering Ukraine, has emerged as one of the alliance’s key eastern flank states amid growing concerns over both Russia’s war in Ukraine and instability in the Middle East.

"We do agree with President Trump on the need to increase budgets," Ţoiu said.

She noted that Romania raised defense spending to 2% of GDP during Trump’s previous term and plans to allocate an average of 3.4% next year through a combination of military procurement and strategic infrastructure investments.

Her remarks came just hours after Romania requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday following a Russian drone strike that hit a residential building in the Romanian city of Galați on May 29.

The emergency briefing marked the first time in Romania’s roughly 70-year history at the United Nations that it requested a Security Council session over a direct threat to its national security, according to Romanian officials.

MULTIPLE ALLIES DECLINE US CALLS FOR STRAIT OF HORMUZ SUPPORT AMID RISING MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS

Speaking at the Security Council, Ţoiu said a drone carrying explosives violated Romanian airspace for approximately four minutes before crashing into the 10th floor of a residential building, injuring a mother and child.

"We do have the military analysis that shows clearly that it is a Russian-made drone in type of design, type of pieces of equipment, and also the chemical analysis that they have done," she told Fox News Digital.

Ţoiu said the drone was believed to be part of a larger Russian attack targeting Ukrainian civilian infrastructure near the Danube River.

"We wanted to call on the international community to make sure we collectively state that this is a blatant violation of international law," she said.

"And irrespective of whether that was the intention or not, the responsibility is very clear. And these reckless escalations need to stop."

BALTIC LEADERS RIP UN SECURITY COUNCIL AS POWERLESS WHILE RUSSIA HOLDS VETO SEAT

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya rejected the accusations during the session, calling them "unfounded and biased."

Nebenzya argued that if a Geran-2 drone had directly hit the building, the damage would have been far more severe, claiming Romanian media footage showed only fire damage rather than complete destruction.

He also called for a "thorough, objective, and depoliticized investigation" involving Russia and suggested the incident could have been a Ukrainian provocation intended to drag NATO deeper into the war.

Ţoiu pushed back against Moscow’s position and questioned how a permanent member of the Security Council can simultaneously act as an aggressor state.

"We do now have a question that's not just a question on Romania's side, but the question of the international community of how can a member of the Security Council contribute to its mission there, which is peace and security, while also being an aggressor state," she said.

"And of course, its veto [ is not currently] used towards peace and security."

The United States joined more than 50 countries backing Romania in a joint statement condemning the strike.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz later wrote on X that he met with Ţoiu following "the reckless Russian drone strike on a Romanian apartment building.

"The violence must end before more innocent people suffer," Waltz wrote.

Ţoiu told Fox News Digital she also held meetings with the U.S. delegation at the United Nations following the emergency session.

"The United States has joined our common statement alongside more than 50 countries in making a clear public message on the attack," she said.

"We are working with the United States not just through our partnership in NATO, but also strategic partners."

Israeli officials blasted the United Nations after accusing the body of adding Israeli entities to a sexual violence blacklist that also includes the terrorist group Hamas.

"We are done with this UN Secretary-General. Guterres has put Israel on the same blacklist along with Hamas, ISIS and the most depraved terrorist organizations in the world. This is a moral disgrace that proves that Guterres has lost all credibility," Israel's ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital.

Fox News has confirmed that the UN added three Israeli armed security force groups to an annex of the UN's annual Conflict-Related Sexual Violence report. 

The UN added the Israel Defense Forces, the Israel Prison Services and the country's border police Counter Terrorism Unit to the report's annex, Guterres informed Danon in a Thursday letter obtained by Fox News Digital. 

The inclusion came after the UN determined the groups to be "as a party credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for patterns of rape or other sexual violence," Guterres wrote.

A spokesperson for Danon said Israel was officially freezing relations with the secretary-general's office as long as Antonio Guterres holds the position.

UN DRAFT REPORT ON CHILDREN IN CONFLICT ZONES RAISES EYEBROWS WITH FRAMING OF ISRAELIS

"We are a strong democracy. We invited the representatives of the U.N. to come to Israel to check those ridiculous allegations. They chose not to come. They chose to continue with the campaign against Israel. We saw the lies in The New York Times, and now we see another lie coming from the U.N.," Danon said in a video shared with Fox News Digital.

"We are done with this Secretary-General," he concluded.

In the Thursday letter, Guterres explained his decision to include Israel's security groups.

"Over the past year, and as noted in the country section of this year’s report (S/2026/321), an increasing number of cases of rape and other forms of sexual violence against Palestinians detained in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and in Israel, perpetrated by Israel Defense Forces, Israel Prison Service and the border police Counter Terrorism Unit continued to be verified. This builds on United Nations reporting of similar patterns and trends of violations in previous years," Guterres wrote.

The U.N. did not respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital.

ISRAEL FOREIGN MINISTRY CONDEMNS NEW YORK TIMES PIECE AS 'ONE OF THE WORST BLOOD LIBELS' IN MODERN PRESS

The Jerusalem Post first reported Wednesday night that the Israeli Prison Service will be included on the U.N.'s list of countries that commit sexual violence in conflict zones.

In early May, The New York Times published an opinion piece from writer Nicholas Kristof accusing Israeli prison guards of conducting institutionalized sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners. Kristof cited a 2025 U.N. report that called alleged Israeli sexual abuse of Palestinians "standard operating procedures towards Palestinians."

Israeli officials strongly rejected the piece's premises and accused Kristof and the Times of blood libel, threatening to sue the outlet in American courts.

THE UN’S BETRAYAL AND ISRAEL’S FIGHT FOR TRUTH

"In an unfathomable inversion of reality, and through an endless stream of baseless lies, propagandist Nicholas Kristof turns the victim into the accused. Israel -— whose citizens were the victims of the most horrific sexual crimes committed by Hamas on October 7, and whose hostages were later subjected to further sexual abuse -— is portrayed as the guilty party," the Israel Foreign Ministry wrote in a post on X in response to the Times piece.

The New York Times pointed Fox News Digital towards a previously issued statement. 

"Nicholas Kristof’s deeply reported piece of opinion journalism starts with a proposition to readers: ‘Whatever our views of the Middle East conflict, we should be able to unite in condemning rape.’ He draws together on-the-record accounts and cites several analyses documenting the practice of sexual violence and abuse conducted by various parts of Israel’s security forces and settlers," the statement read.

"The accounts of the 14 men and women he interviewed were corroborated with other witnesses, whenever possible, and with people the victims confided in — that includes family members and lawyers. Details were extensively fact-checked, with accounts further cross-referenced with news reporting, independent research from human-rights groups, surveys and in one case, with U.N. testimony. Independent experts were consulted on the assertions in the piece throughout reporting and fact-checking," the statement concluded. 

The Israeli Foreign Ministry further commented Thursday on the reported U.N. blacklisting.

"Over the past year, Israel's Ambassador to the UN and the Israeli delegation held a series of meetings with U.N. representatives and provided documents, data, as well as a detailed response to all the allegations that were raised. Despite this, the U.N. Secretary-General chose to advance a political decision and include Israel alongside Hamas and terrorist organizations," the foreign ministry wrote in a statement shared with Fox News Digital.

"The shameful and absurd U.N. decision to include Israeli entities in the annex to the CRSV report is further proof of the UN’s true nature: a politicized and corrupt organization that has abandoned its founding principles and systematically targets Israel as its primary mission. This decision is yet another example of the UN’s long-standing, institutionalized hostility toward Israel. Today’s decision must be understood in its true context: an attempt to create a fake symmetry between Israel and the real sexual atrocities committed by Hamas. This is its sole motivation. The person behind this farce is Antonio Guterres," the statement continued.

"This is the same Guterres who sought to 'contextualize' the October 7 massacre, who covered up the involvement of UN employees in those atrocities, and who has dragged the UN to its lowest point. Guterres is now exploiting his final months as Secretary-General to fabricate baseless accusations against Israel, completely devoid of any factual merit. Israel has comprehensively, thoroughly, and unequivocally refuted these allegations. Given that António Guterres has chosen to violate every standard of honesty, integrity, and professionalism, Israel has decided to sever all ties with the Secretary-General’s Office and will wait until a new UN Secretary-General is appointed," the statement concluded.

UNITED NATIONS — The Czech Republic is prepared to help protect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and is aligning closely with the Trump administration on security, NATO and Israel, Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka told Fox News Digital during an exclusive interview at the United Nations in New York.

Prague already had begun discussions about contributing specialized capabilities to help secure the strategically vital waterway amid growing tensions with Iran, Macinka said while speaking at Security Council-related meetings at the U.N. 

"We are ready to contribute to freedom of passage and the Hormuz trade," Macinka said. 

"We were among the first countries that were ready to contribute … We have no navy, as we are in the middle of Europe," he explained, "But we have some unique passive surveillance capabilities."

TRUMP SEEKS WARSHIPS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES TO HELP SECURE STRAIT OF HORMUZ

Macinka warned that Iran posed a global threat through what he described as four main "war tools": nuclear proliferation, drones and ballistic missiles, international terrorism and threats to the Strait of Hormuz. 

"Their nuclear military program must be stopped," he said. "It’s a global risk and global threat."

The comments come as the Trump administration has increased pressure on European allies to take a larger role in protecting international shipping routes amid Iranian threats tied to the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil transit choke points. Roughly one-fifth of global oil consumption passes through the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea.

Speaking after a meeting with foreign ministers in Sweden Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio questioned the value of hosting U.S. military bases in allied countries that later restrict American military operations during wartime.

"One of the arguments I always made was that these bases in the region provided us with logistical options that we wouldn’t otherwise have," Rubio told reporters. "And when some of those bases are denied to you during a conflict that we’re involved in, then you question whether that value is still there."

President Donald Trump also has sharply criticized NATO allies over a reluctance to participate in military operations tied to the Iran conflict and securing the Strait of Hormuz. 

Trump said he was "strongly considering" pulling the United States out of NATO after allies failed to join the U.S. campaign against Iran, according to an April 1 interview with Britain’s Daily Telegraph, calling the alliance a "paper tiger."

The Czech Republic, a NATO member since 1999, reached NATO’s benchmark of spending 2% of GDP on defense and has supported calls for Europe to increase military readiness amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Macinka strongly defended the administration’s calls for Europe to increase defense spending and reduce dependence on Washington for long-term security guarantees. 

"We should do our homework and build our defense to become stronger," he said, arguing that Europe had delayed necessary military investments for too long.

He also tied Europe’s defense spending challenges to the European Union’s Green Deal policies, the bloc’s sweeping climate agenda aimed at reducing carbon emissions, calling them ideological and financially destructive. 

"If we get rid of this green, crazy alarmism, then we have enough money to build our defense," he said.

The Czech foreign minister also voiced unusually direct support for Trump and his administration, praising what he described as a global "common sense" shift following Trump’s election victory.

"We are friends of Israel, and we are friends of America," Macinka said. "Especially me as a politician, I'm a friend of the ideology of the current American administration."

Macinka also referenced a clash earlier in 2026 with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Munich Security Conference, where he criticized Europe’s liberal political establishment and defended the populist wave reshaping parts of Europe and the United States.

EUROPE MUST LEAD ON UKRAINIAN SECURITY GUARANTEES, GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS: 'WE ARE THE NEIGHBORS'

Macinka linked Prague’s strong support for Ukraine to the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, when hundreds of thousands of Warsaw Pact troops occupied the country for more than two decades.

He said that historical experience continues to shape Czech public opinion and support for Kyiv.

"The Czech society feels a big solidarity with Ukraine," Macinka said, describing the war as a "symmetric war" between a powerful Russian military and a Ukrainian army backed by the West.

Macinka highlighted Prague’s leading role in a Czech-backed ammunition initiative supplying Ukraine with artillery rounds collected through international donor efforts. 

Recalling a visit to Kyiv earlier in 2026, he said he received intelligence briefings on battlefield ammunition consumption from Ukrainian military officials.

TRUMP, ZELENSKYY TO MEET FOR KEY DEAL AS NATO ALLIES, RUSSIA WAIT, WATCH

The Czech initiative delivered more than half a million rounds of ammunition in 2026 alone, according to Macinka, helping stabilize the battlefield ahead of possible peace negotiations.

Macinka argued that maintaining a stable front is essential for meaningful negotiations, warning that shifting battle lines will only harden demands on both sides.

With Washington increasingly focused on the Middle East, Macinka also said Europe must begin taking a larger diplomatic role in future negotiations over Ukraine.

"America is quite busy with the Middle East," he said. "Europe should wake up and ask for a place at the table."

LONDON, England — From Sudan to Gaza, civilians are desperate, hospitals are under attack, and the humanitarian aid system cannot keep up, according to a new report in the Lancet medical journal. 

"The humanitarian system is no longer fit for purpose, given the types of emergencies that we have and their magnitude," report co-author Dr. Paul Spiegel told Fox News. 

AS WORLD FIXATES ON OTHER WARS, SUDAN SEES 12 MILLION FORCIBLY DISPLACED IN DEVASTATING CONFLICT

A professor at Johns Hopkins University and co-chair of its Center for Humanitarian Health, Spiegel has decades of experience working in refugee camps and war zones around the world. "I've been doing this for well over 30 years," he said. "We're in a very dark time."

Highlighting one of the world’s largest disasters, Sudan's brutal civil war — where tens of millions of people are in need as hospitals close and famine spreads — the panel of experts behind the report says the world knows how to save lives, but that the system is failing to deliver. The experts' report, titled 'Health in a World of Crises and Impunity,' argues that some agencies are too bureaucratic, and others too slow. The whole system, they say, needs revamping.

The report argues the United Nations is in need of reform, while in the U.S. it highlights the Trump Administration's shuttering of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) over suspected fraud and abuse. 

During that restructuring, many of USAID's most vital programs were folded into the State Department, but the report calls USAID's closure a "shock" and "sudden," and part of a chain of decisions in the U.S. and elsewhere which it condemns as "a political and moral failure."

ANALYSTS SAY GAZA 'CIVILIAN' DEATHS INCLUDE HAMAS, OTHER TERROR MEMBERS WORKING AS MEDICS, MEDIA WORKERS

"USAID needed to be restructured," Spiegel told Fox News. "The U.N. needs to be restructured in a very significant way. But it's how you do that.

"It is the strategy to make sure that you do it in such a way that vulnerable populations across the globe are not going to be hurt, and that it wasn't done like that."

The authors are pushing for major global reforms, including overhauling funding, sending aid directly to local communities, greater accountability if governments or armed groups block aid, and upholding healthcare as a basic human right.

"It's really a complete rebalancing," Spiegel said, "to make sure that the system actually works for the people it's intended to help."

The Lebanese government filed a sharply worded complaint with the United Nations arguing that the Islamic Republic of Iran has abused diplomatic immunity by refusing to recall its ambassador after Beirut demanded his expulsion and to stop alleged terrorist activities on its soil, according to a recently surfaced letter from late April.

The disclosure of the letter, which is reportedly a precedent-setting move by Lebanon, comes amid a second day of talks in Washington between Israel and Lebanon to normalize relations (the countries are in a state of war) and dismantle the Iranian-regime-backed Hezbollah terrorist movement in Lebanon.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Friday that "The United States facilitated talks between Israel and Lebanon have resumed today and are ongoing. The atmosphere of talks has been very positive, even exceeding expectations."

FAMILY OF AMERICAN HOSTAGE TORTURED IN LEBANON WINS LANDMARK CASE AGAINST IRAN

State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott wrote on X on Friday that "On May 14 and 15, the United States hosted two days of highly-productive talks between Israel and Lebanon. The April 16 cessation of hostilities will be extended by 45 days to enable further progress. The State Department will reconvene the political track of negotiations on June 2 and June 3."

He added that, "In addition, a security track will be launched at the Pentagon on May 29 with military delegations from both countries. We hope these discussions will advance lasting peace between the two countries, full recognition of each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and establishing genuine security along their shared border."

As the sides report back to their capitals, the potentially game-changing letter in which Lebanese ambassador to the U.N. Ahmad Arafa, slammed Iran for inserting alleged terrorists from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) into Lebanon "under the guise of diplomatic activity," has given hope to critics of Iran and Hezbollah.

Arafa said, according to the letter, that Iran committed "unlawful acts in blatant defiance of the decisions of the Government of Lebanon." He continued, "This Iranian conduct constitutes direct and blatant interference in the internal affairs of Lebanon and drags the country into a war it did not choose to become involved in."

The U.S. and the European Union have classified the IRGC as a terrorist entity.

The letter took the Iranian Ambassador to Beirut, Mohammad Reza Sheibani, to task for "blatant interference" in Lebanon.

According to Lebanon’s U.N. letter, Beirut argued that Iran is violating the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and interfering in Lebanon’s state of affairs.

IDF SOLDIERS ACCUSE UN PEACEKEEPERS OF ENABLING HEZBOLLAH TERRORISTS AMID INCREASING CEASE-FIRE VIOLATIONS

When asked about the details of the letter, a spokesperson for Lebanon’s ambassador to the U.S. declined to comment. The spokesperson also declined to weigh in on the current talks with Israel in Washington.

Walid Phares, a leading U.S. expert on Lebanon and the Mideast, told Fox News Digital that "Many have considered the Lebanese memo to the U.N. as the start of the Lebanese government change of attitude towards Iran and a sign of escalation by Beirut. While the tone of the letter and its narrative make people feel that there is a government resistance to Iran and Hezbollah reality is still lesser."

He added that "The subject of the last quarrel is a legal change of status regarding the presence of Iranians on Lebanese soil. The Lebanese government has decided not to grant Iranians, government, and private citizens an automatic visa waiver, which upset Iran and Hezbollah. Besides, Tehran is furious at the fact that the Lebanese government has not been helpful in dealing with the elimination of a number of IRGC members killed in Lebanon by Israel. Tehran blames the foreign ministry of Lebanon, particularly foreign minister Youssef Raggi, for the ‘lessening of solidarity with Iran."'

According to Phares, "Raggi represents a Lebanese Christian bloc in the parliament, who is not sympathetic to the regime. However, the actual talks in D.C. are designed by the Lebanese government to show the Trump administration that the ‘state wants to talk’ but not to reach an agreement that would trigger Hezbollah's wrath. The leaders of the Lebanese state are not yet where the U.S. and Israel expect them to be."

A regional official well-versed in the U.N. dispute told Fox News Digital that Lebanon "argued that Iran had not given the Lebanese foreign ministry the list of all Iranians and the details about their place of stay. And that’s why Israel targeted that hotel in Lebanon in which six were killed, which is true."

The official said that "Iran had not told the foreign ministry of Lebanon about those six people."

The U.S. ​State Department ‌announced on Monday that it refused to back an ​International Migration Review Forum "progress" declaration, ​accusing the U.N. of efforts to "advocate and facilitate replacement immigration in the United States and across the broader West."

The U.S. did not participate in the second International Migration Review Forum, held May 5–8 at U.N. Headquarters in New York, and will not support the declaration, the department said in a statement on Monday.

The forum is the U.N.’s main global platform for member states to review implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, according to the U.N. Network on Migration. The 2026 forum was scheduled to produce an intergovernmentally agreed "Progress Declaration."

President Donald Trump ended U.S. participation in the U.N. process to develop the Global Compact for Migration during his first term in 2017, and now the State Department says the federal government will again affirm its opposition.

TRUMP PULLS US OUT OF UN-LINKED MIGRATION FORUM IN BOLD IMMIGRATION MOVE

The Global Compact was adopted in 2018 after the U.S. withdrew from the process. The U.N. and International Organization for Migration describe the compact as a cooperative framework intended to improve migration governance across countries.

"As Secretary Rubio said, opening our doors to mass migration was a grave mistake that threatens the cohesion of our societies and the future of our peoples," the department's statement reads. "In recent years, Americans witnessed first-hand how mass immigration laid waste to our communities: crime and chaos at the border, states of emergency in major cities, and billions of taxpayer dollars funneled towards hotels, plane tickets, cell phones and cash cards for migrants."

"Much of this was driven by UN agencies and their partners, which did not just facilitate the invasion of our country, but proceeded to redistribute our own people’s wealth and resources to millions of foreigners from the worst corners of the world," it continued.

The department argued there was nothing safe, orderly or regular about any of this, adding that the costs "were borne primarily by working Americans forced to compete for scarce jobs, housing, and social services."

"The UN has little to say about them," the department wrote.

TRUMP UNVEILS ‘REVERSE MIGRATION’ PLAN TO HALT ‘THIRD WORLD’ IMMIGRATION, REVOKE BIDEN-ERA ENTRIES

"President Trump is focused on the interests of Americans, not foreigners or globalist bureaucrats," the statement reads. "The United States will not support a process that imposes, overtly or by stealth, guidelines, standards, or commitments that constrain the American people’s sovereign, democratic right to make decisions in the best interests of our country."

The department concluded its statement by saying its goal is not to "manage" migration, but to "foster remigration."

In a thread on X also announcing the move to object to the declaration, the department said UN agencies "systematically facilitated mass migration into America and Europe, even as citizens of these nations called for restrictions on migration." It added that U.N. materials related to the Global Compact call for expanding regular migration pathways and reference "regularization" of migrants.

The International Organization for Migration says the forum is held every four years for countries to review progress and shape next steps on migration policy. IOM, which coordinates the U.N. Network on Migration, says the network includes 39 U.N. agencies working to support countries on migration issues.

The department alleged that "UN agencies – working with the NGOs they fund – established a migration corridor through Central America and to the U.S. border," the post reads. "As the American people suffered under an unprecedented wave of mass migration, the UN was on the ground pipelining migrants to our southern border."

"After facilitating mass migration to the United States, UN agencies condemned the deportation of illegal immigrants," the post continued. "While the United Kingdom faced unprecedented illegal boat crossings, UN agencies condemned plans for deportations. UN officials lobbied aviation regulators to prevent the deportation of migrants – an appalling violation of the UK’s national sovereignty."

The U.N. Network on Migration describes the compact as "non-legally binding." A U.N.-hosted text of the compact also says it respects states’ sovereign right to determine their national migration policies and to distinguish between regular and irregular migration status.

The declaration itself says the Global Compact is a cooperative framework and acknowledges that no state can address migration alone, while also upholding the sovereignty of states.

The department pushed back on the compact’s framing of migration as "safe, orderly and regular."

"For the citizens of Western nations, mass migration was never safe. It introduced new security threats, imposed financial strains, and undermined the cohesion of our societies," it wrote.

"The United States will not legitimize global compacts that enable mass migration into America or Western nations," the post added.

U.N. materials frame the compact as a cooperative framework for issues that often cross borders, including labor migration, border management, migrant protections and development. U.N. agencies, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, describe the IMRF as a state-led review process with participation from relevant stakeholders.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.N. for comment.

The United States is advancing a new United Nations Security Council resolution targeting Iran’s actions in the Strait of Hormuz as the administration seeks to reinforce its ongoing maritime operation with international backing.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said Monday the effort is designed to hold Iran accountable for mining international waters, threatening global shipping and attempting to disrupt one of the world’s most critical trade routes.

"The president and Secretary Rubio have instructed us to come to the Security Council in full cooperation and craft a resolution with Bahrain and the GCC countries," Waltz said during a press briefing. "We’re working on a parallel effort at the Security Council that is separate and distinct from Project Freedom, but obviously related."

"The resolution will involve holding Iran to account for its blatant violations of international law," he added, including requiring Tehran to stop laying sea mines, disclose their locations and work with the United Nations to establish humanitarian corridors used by dozens of U.N. agencies to deliver aid globally.

RUSSIA, CHINA VETO UN RESOLUTION AIMED AT REOPENING STRAIT OF HORMUZ, HOURS BEFORE TRUMP DEADLINE

The diplomatic push comes as U.S. forces moved Monday to secure commercial shipping through the strait under President Donald Trump’s Project Freedom. U.S. Central Command confirmed American forces sank six Iranian small boats threatening vessels, underscoring the fragility of the ceasefire and the ongoing risks to global energy flows.

Waltz framed the effort as part of a broader push to set a global precedent.

"We can’t set a standard that if two countries have a conflict … you can then embark on collective punishment for the economies of the rest of the world," he said.

When asked by Fox News Digital about the broader implications of Iran’s actions, Waltz said the U.S. is working to ensure that international waterways cannot be weaponized.

IRAN SEIZES SHIPS IN HORMUZ AS US TALKS FALTER AFTER CEASEFIRE EXTENSION

"You can’t start indiscriminately just throwing sea mines out into the ocean to sow doubt and fear into the international maritime community," he said. "And you certainly can’t see it as a revenue source … no country has a right to punish the rest of the world as part of a conflict."

He also pointed to the human toll of the crisis, noting that thousands of civilian mariners have been caught in the escalating tensions.

"These are captains, engineers, cooks, deckhands … they had no part in this conflict. They shouldn’t be forced to suffer," Waltz said, adding that the administration is emphasizing the humanitarian aspect of ensuring safe passage and aid delivery.

Fox News Digital also asked whether the U.S. and its partners should look beyond securing the strait and consider long-term structural solutions to bypass it altogether.

"I know our Gulf partners and allies are seriously thinking through that," Waltz said, referencing existing infrastructure such as Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline and export routes through the Gulf of Oman.

"I know they’re looking at additional alternatives to frankly diversify their pathways and diversify their economies," he added.

While the U.S. military effort is focused on immediate stabilization, including guiding vessels and deterring Iranian harassment, Waltz stressed that the U.N. resolution is intended to address the broader international implications and prevent similar crises in the future.

Despite the push, questions remain about whether Russia and China will support the measure after a previous attempt in April failed to pass. 

Waltz said the current proposal is narrower in scope and focused specifically on clear violations of international law, which he argued should make opposition less likely.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Iranian mission to the U.N. fo comment. 

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Tuesday accused Iran’s regime of dramatically intensifying its crackdown on dissent in the wake of the February conflict, warning that Tehran has carried out executions, mass arrests, torture and one of the world’s longest internet shutdowns while invoking national security.

In a sharply worded statement from Geneva, Türk said at least 21 people have been executed and more than 4,000 arrested on national security-related charges since Feb. 28 as the regime faces mounting scrutiny over what he described as a sweeping assault on fundamental rights. 

"I am appalled that, on top of the already severe impacts of the conflict, the rights of the Iranian people continue to be stripped from them by the authorities in harsh and brutal ways," Türk said.

COULD NARGES MOHAMMADI UNITE IRAN’S OPPOSITION? HUSBAND SAYS IMPRISONED NOBEL LAUREATE STILL FIGHTING

Since the start of the conflict two months ago, the U.N. said nine people have been executed over the January 2026 protests, 10 for alleged membership in opposition groups and two on espionage charges. It's estimated some 40,000 people were killed by regime forces during January's uprising.

Türk warned that Iran’s broad use of vaguely defined national security laws has enabled authorities to fast-track prosecutions, deny legal counsel and rely on coerced confessions.

"Even where national security is invoked, human rights can only be limited where strictly necessary and proportionate," he said, calling on Tehran to halt executions, impose a moratorium on capital punishment and immediately release those arbitrarily detained.

For many Iranian dissidents, the findings reflect an already dire reality.

"It is bad," Banafsheh Zand, an Iranian-American journalist and editor of the Iran So Far Away Substack, told Fox News Digital. "They’re completely killing off the country."

On Saturday, it was reported that Iran had executed another athlete, a 21-year-old karate champion. Sassan Azadvar Joonqani was detained in January during the anti-regime protests and was executed by the regime on Thursday, according to a Euronews report. 

In March, Iran executed another athlete, 19-year-old wrestling champion Saleh Mohammadi, for protesting against the regime, Fox News Digital reported. 

Türk’s office said detainees have reportedly faced enforced disappearances, torture, mock executions and televised confessions, with ethnic and religious minorities, including Bahá’ís, Zoroastrians, Kurds and Baluch Iranians facing particular risk.

RUBIO REVOKES IRANIAN OFFICIALS' US TRAVEL PRIVILEGES OVER DEADLY PROTEST CRACKDOWN KILLING THOUSANDS

Among those cited by the U.N. was imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, whose condition sharply worsened Friday after what her family described as a catastrophic health crisis after months of being denied specialized care.

According to a statement from the Narges Foundation published Friday, Mohammadi was urgently transferred by ambulance from Zanjan Prison to a hospital after suffering two episodes of complete loss of consciousness in a single day, accompanied by severe cardiac distress. 

The foundation said prison doctors determined her condition could no longer be managed on site after what her family called a "last-minute" transfer that may have come dangerously late.

Her husband, Taghi Rahmani, told Fox News Digital earlier this week that her physical condition had already become increasingly dire after what he described as a violent arrest and deteriorating prison treatment. 

"She has sustained severe trauma and urgently requires medical attention," he said.

Rahmani previously said Mohammadi’s medical team and outside specialists had pushed for treatment in Tehran due to her history of multiple heart procedures, while authorities allegedly blocked those recommendations until her condition became life-threatening. Despite her physical decline, Rahmani said, "Spiritually and mentally, Narges remains steadfast."

IRAN’S KHAMENEI LASHES OUT AT PROTESTERS AS NATIONWIDE ANTI-REGIME UNREST GROWS

The U.N. statement, combined with Mohammadi’s emergency hospitalization, has intensified scrutiny of Iran’s prison conditions, which Türk described as marked by overcrowding, medical neglect and severe human rights abuses.

Türk also cited dire prison conditions, including overcrowding, shortages of food, water and medicine and denial of medical care.

The U.N. further highlighted reports of lethal violence in detention centers, including claims that security forces killed at least five detainees in Chabahar Prison after protests over suspended food distribution.

But while dissidents welcomed the U.N.’s unusually forceful language, some also questioned whether condemnation without action can meaningfully alter conditions, especially as Iran this week was elevated to a vice chair role on a U.N. nuclear nonproliferation committee.

"The reason why Iranians just don't trust, don't like and don't want to know from the U.N.," Zand said, is what she described as its repeated failure "to rise to the occasion of responding to the regime and holding their feet to the fire at the right time ... with the right amount of pressure."

While she said the latest statement itself was important, Zand argued many view such condemnations as hollow when paired with what they see as institutional legitimacy granted to Tehran.

"They're making a statement. … Fine," she said. "But what are they gonna do about it?"

EXCLUSIVE: A surge in online claims warning of famine in Gaza is gaining traction across social media and international outlets, but newly surfaced data reviewed by Fox News Digital from the United Nations, the Board of Peace and the Israeli military tells a sharply different story. 

The figures were shared at a meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), a forum that coordinates international aid to the Palestinians, by the Board of Peace and described as based on reporting from the U.N.

Children aged 6 to 59 months admitted for acute malnutrition treatment rose from 2,807 cases in January 2025 to a peak of 17,384 in August 2025 before declining steadily to 3,043 in March 2026, an approximately 83% drop, according to the data. 

EYEWITNESS TO FIGHTING HAMAS TERRORISTS IN GAZA'S DEADLY NETZARIM CORRIDOR: 'THE CHALLENGES ARE CONSTANT'

The figures challenge a rapidly spreading narrative that Gaza is facing widespread famine, a claim gaining traction across global media and shaping international pressure on Israel.

The dataset also indicates that most remaining cases are now classified as "moderate" or linked to chronic medical and genetic conditions requiring sustained support.

Separate figures presented at the same meeting, collected by the Board of Peace, show a sharp increase in humanitarian aid delivery following the establishment of the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in October 2025. The U.S.-led, multinational hub, located in Israel, is designed to manage post-war Gaza stabilization. 

The Civil-Military Coordination Center oversees aid delivery, monitors a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, and coordinates efforts with 60 nations and organizations.

The figures show weekly truck deliveries into Gaza rose from approximately 1,300 to 4,200, while the percentage of trucks diverted en route dropped from roughly 90% to just 1% post-Civil-Military Coordination Center. 

The number of people reached with food assistance increased from about 400,000 before the Civil-Military Coordination Center was established to approximately 2.1 million post-coordination center. 

And yet, April has seen a spike in messaging alleging "engineered starvation" in Gaza, according to HonestReporting, a U.S.-based pro-Israel media watchdog, with the narrative spreading from Hamas-linked channels to mainstream platforms in a matter of days. 

"On April 13, our team began seeing posts about soda and Nutella entering Gaza at the same time that Doctors Without Borders accused Israel of trying to ‘destroy the conditions of life,’" said Jacki Alexander, CEO of HonestReporting. "We used our proprietary AI tool to identify whether this was part of a broader pattern, and that analysis formed the basis of our memo."

"Since then, we’ve seen continued use of famine-related language across social media and ideologically aligned outlets," Alexander said. "Content claiming mass starvation has reached millions of views, and the narrative has expanded to include allegations about blocked medical supplies."

The HonestReporting report said the messaging quickly escalated, with viral posts claiming bakeries were shutting down, food supplies were critically low and an "entire generation" of children faced irreversible harm. The narrative, claimed the report, was further reinforced by coverage in outlets including Drop Site News, Middle East Eye, Mondoweiss and Al Jazeera English.

"Hamas understands that its best leverage exists in the information war," Alexander said. 

"That’s why we developed these tools — to document narrative warfare and create a blueprint to dismantle it," Alexander told Fox News Digital. 

ISRAEL ANNOUNCES IMMEDIATE RESUMPTION OF GAZA AID AIRDROPS AMID GROWING HUNGER CRISIS

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Richard Goldberg, a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies nonprofit, said, "What we’re seeing is a recurring pattern in this conflict where the humanitarian narrative is being weaponized."

Goldberg argued that the timing of the famine claims is tied to growing pressure on Hamas to disarm and to broader diplomatic efforts involving the United States, Arab states and international partners.

"One of those weapons is trying to resurrect a narrative of famine," he said.

Hamas is seeking to "undermine" a coalition involved in shaping Gaza’s post-war future, according to Goldberg, and prevent consensus around next steps. 

"Hamas is the isolated party, and they do not want to disarm," he said.

Goldberg said that, unlike earlier stages of the war, the current environment makes it harder for such claims to take hold. 

"You now have months of ceasefire, and the U.N. and other partners have been directly involved in the humanitarian effort," he said.

"They all have the data… and they are all in a position where there’s a brick wall Hamas is going to find for its disinformation tactics," he added.

WARFARE EXPERT CALLS GAZA REBUILDING PLAN 'DISNEYLAND STRATEGY' TO DEFEAT HAMAS

"What worked against just Israel a year ago cannot work as well against an entire coalition," Goldberg said.

A senior Israeli military official told Fox News Digital that during the ceasefire, humanitarian throughput into Gaza averaged roughly 600 trucks per day, far above what the official said U.N. planning models estimated was required to meet baseline food needs.

"According to the U.N., it’s somewhere between 115 to 130 trucks a day," the official said, while emphasizing that recent aid levels have significantly exceeded that threshold.

The official said that despite temporary disruptions during the Iran conflict, crossings quickly reopened and aid volumes returned to high levels, arguing that current famine allegations are "completely false."

"It’s impossible with the amount of aid that is going in," the official said. "There is no shortage of food in the Gaza Strip for an extended period."

Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) similarly told Fox News Digital that Israel’s defense establishment believes Hamas is attempting to exploit global attention shifting toward Iran and Lebanon by pushing renewed humanitarian collapse narratives about Gaza.

Hamas has repeatedly sought throughout the war to portray "a deliberately false narrative of the collapse of the humanitarian system" in Gaza in order to increase international pressure on Israel and shape negotiations, according to COGAT. 

A security official said Hamas intensifies such campaigns whenever diplomatic pressure rises.

"Hamas is trying to stall for time and is using all means to maintain its grip on power," the official said. "Whenever negotiations over an agreement take place, Hamas intensifies false campaigns about the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip in order to secure international support through fabricated crises."

Fox News Digital has reached out to the United Nations and the World Food Programme for comment. 

The United States, joined by the United Arab Emirates and backed by concerns from key European powers, sharply condemned the United Nations’ decision Monday to grant Iran a leadership post at a major nuclear treaty conference.

Iran’s selection as one of dozens of vice presidents at the monthlong review conference for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty reignited scrutiny over what critics say is a recurring pattern of Iran gaining procedural legitimacy inside international institutions despite longstanding concerns over its nuclear conduct.

The clash erupted as the 11th Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty opened at U.N. headquarters in New York, where Iran was selected as one of 34 vice presidents through the Non-Aligned Movement bloc. 

The conference includes 191 treaty parties and convenes every five years to review implementation of the pact aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.

IRAN SECURES UN ROLE WITH BACKING FROM UK, FRANCE, CANADA, AUSTRALIA AS US STANDS ALONE

For the administration, the symbolism was immediate and explosive.

"Rather than choosing to use this review conference to defend the integrity of the NPT and call Iran to account, we instead elect Iran a vice president," Christopher Yeaw, U.S. assistant secretary for arms control and nonproliferation, told delegates. "It is beyond shameful and an embarrassment to the credibility of this conference."

The UAE and Australia publicly backed the American objection, while Britain, France and Germany also expressed concern, marking a broader coalition than in earlier U.N. disputes where the U.S. often stood largely alone in challenging Iran’s procedural elevation.

The diplomatic uproar follows a pattern previously highlighted by Fox News Digital. On April 13, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), a 54-member body that plays a central role in shaping U.N. policy and staffing key committees, nominated the Islamic Republic of Iran to the U.N.’s Committee for Program and Coordination, which helps shape policy on human rights, women’s rights, disarmament and counterterrorism, with the United States the only country to formally object.

IRAN VASTLY INCREASED NUCLEAR FUEL STOCKPILE AHEAD OF TRUMP RETURN, UN AGENCY FINDS

During Monday’s debate, Iranian envoy Reza Najafi rejected the criticism as "baseless and politically motivated," accusing the U.S. of hypocrisy and pointing to America’s nuclear history while defending Tehran’s right to peaceful nuclear development. Russia also defended Iran, with Ambassador-at-Large Andrey Belousov objecting to what he called the politicization of the conference.

The Iranian mission to the United Nations declined to comment to Fox News Digital.

U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told Fox News Digital that the secretary-general "is not involved in any way in the election of Member States to leadership roles in various conferences or legislative bodies."

"Member States are responsible for electing other Member States, and they must be accountable for the results of these elections," Dujarric said.

He added that the U.N.’s focus remains on the broader nuclear threat rather than the procedural controversy surrounding Iran’s appointment. 

"We strongly encourage all Member States participating in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference to focus on what is most important: stopping the spread and threat of nuclear weapons, which remains a global threat," he said.

Iran’s appointment comes amid heightened international concern over Iran’s nuclear trajectory. Western governments and the International Atomic Energy Agency have raised alarms over Iran’s enrichment of uranium to near weapons-grade levels and disputes over inspections, while Tehran insists its program is strictly civilian.

Critics say the controversy exposes a structural contradiction at the heart of the U.N. system: geopolitical blocs can elevate states under scrutiny into positions of procedural authority, even at conferences dedicated to the very norms those states are accused of violating.

The last NPT review conference in 2022 failed to produce a consensus document after Russia blocked the agreement, underscoring how great power divisions have increasingly paralyzed the treaty’s review process, according to The Associated Press. 

Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, told Fox News Digital the vote reflects what he described as a broader erosion of institutional credibility at the United Nations.

"This is part of a disturbing trend," Neuer said. "Iran has been accumulating senior roles across the U.N. system, from human rights bodies to key committees. Each appointment chips away at the credibility of international institutions, reinforcing the perception that political deal-making outweighs basic standards of conduct."

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer faces a "crimes against humanity" complaint at the United Nations over the treatment of the Chagossian people as tensions rise after an Iranian missile attempt targeting Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

Starmer, who is named in the filling, has been reported specifically over the removal of four people who returned to the island in a complaint filed by the attorney general for the Chagossian government.

James Tumbridge's filing also comes as the exiled leadership stressed the importance of strong ties with the United States, telling Fox News Digital that Washington is a "brother in arms for global security."

TRUMP, STARMER AGREE STRAIT OF HORMUZ MUST REOPEN AS MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT ESCALATES

On March 20, Iran launched two ballistic missiles toward Diego Garcia from more than 2,300 miles away, missing the target but underscoring the base’s strategic importance.

Chagossian leaders have since backed a continued U.S. presence, with First Minister Misley Mandarin saying they want to "uphold the 1966 agreement and consider the U.S. as a brother in arms for global security."

The 1966 agreement allowed the U.S. to use Diego Garcia for defense purposes, initially for 50 years.

"The desire of the Chagossian government is to have a positive relationship with the U.S. and an ongoing presence on Diego Garcia of the U.S. military," Tumbridge also told Fox News Digital.

TRUMP PROVEN RIGHT ON IRAN'S LONG-RANGE MISSILE CAPABILITY AS REGIME TARGETS US-UK BASE, EXPERTS SAY

Meanwhile, Tumbridge’s U.N. submission claims U.K. actions risk the "forced depopulation" of the Chagos Islands.

Expulsions began in 1968, when about 2,000 residents were removed, culminating in 1973, and in February the U.K. issued new removal orders to four Chagossians who had returned to the islands.

The filing calls the situation "forced displacement" that could constitute "a crime against humanity by forced depopulation of a territory."

It warns the British government of a "fresh crime now" that could complete a decades-long erasure of the Indigenous population, stating, "The removal of these four persons would result in the total physical erasure of the Chagossian people," potentially "amounting to ethnic cleansing."

FARAGE SLAMS BRITISH PRIME MINISTER FOR ‘EXTRAORDINARY’ LACK OF SUPPORT FOR TRUMP'S IRAN STRIKES

"The BIOT commissioner accepted that the Chagossians were wronged in the past," Tumbridge said Wednesday.

"How can the U.K. prime minister, who claims to value the rule of law and human rights, not want to right that wrong and let the people return to their islands?"

The filing also comes as the U.K. considers transferring sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

This followed a 2019 International Court of Justice opinion, while preserving the Diego Garcia base under a 99-year lease.

President Donald Trump criticized the proposed handover, and the U.K. has since paused legislation to formalize the deal, with ministers saying it has become "impossible to agree at a political level."

The legislation was expected to be included in the King’s speech outlining the next parliamentary session’s agenda.

TRUMP’S ‘SMALL ASK’ FOR GREENLAND WOULD BE THE REAL ESTATE DEAL OF A LIFETIME

A UK government spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the Diego Garcia military base is "crucial to the security of the UK and our key allies, and to keeping the British people safe. 

"There are ongoing legal proceedings before the BIOT courts. Various UK and international courts have found that there is no right of abode on the Archipelago," the spokesperson said in a statement.

Responding to the statement, Tumbridge claimed Starmer's government was "misleading" people and warned a "serious fight" is on the horizon.

"Sadly, the British Government is misleading people. No court anywhere has ever found ‘that there is no right of abode on the Archipelago.’ Tony Blair’s Government took away the right of abode and passed attempts to quash that law in court failed, until the Supreme Court of the BIOT ruled on March 31st and quashed it," he said.