Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj

A year ago, it looked like the United Nations was coming to an end. Funding was cut by the United States, it constantly appeared to be an ineffective institution, and there were fears that Donald Trump would withdraw the United States from the United Nations, which he founded and mainly funded. There was even talk that Trump's “peace board” could become an alternative or rival to the United Nations.

But this week, as world leaders met again in New York, there was a new energy palpable. The first meeting on artificial intelligence in the history of the UN Security Council was held. Trump, although still as violent and threatening as ever, did what should be done at the United Nations: he used diplomacy.

What has happened at the United Nations in recent days deserves careful attention and research.

People talk a lot about how ineffective the United Nations has been since Trump arrived. How important is the UN still?

The United Nations is the only world forum that brings all countries – all 193 countries – together under one roof. The United Nations is even called the World Cup of Diplomacy.

In its meetings, the delegation holds bilateral, trilateral, quadrilateral and alliance meetings, planning and discussing, for example, sea level rise, food security and humanitarian aid.

These are the kinds of issues that need a place to discuss them, and the United Nations is really the only place that provides this opportunity globally.

In the end, many parties will hold meetings, but to what extent will the outcomes of these meetings be practical and to what extent will the discussions be translated into action? Very little. But what is important about these meetings is that they promote dialogue and diplomacy. If we believe in diplomacy, this is valuable in itself and is the essence of the work of the United Nations.

It is true that the UN Security Council is very divided and multipolar; Permanent members with veto rights like the US, China and Russia can’t agree on anything. But if you compare today to the Cold War era, when the United States and the Soviet Union were completely opposed to each other, the United Nations still does much more today than it did back then.

What caught everyone's attention this year?

Of course, artificial intelligence. For the first time in history, artificial intelligence has become a major topic. The Security Council, which always chooses what it sees as the most important issue for global peace and stability, held an important meeting on artificial intelligence, where Sam Altman and Dario Amodi, directors of Open AI and Anthropic, briefed the leaders of major countries.

Currently, several veto-wielding countries are reluctant to act together. The United States, China and Russia basically said that each country is free and others cannot interfere in the decisions made by each country about technology because it is a matter of sovereignty.

Iran and Ironic Symbolism

This was also the first time that the president of a country like Iran, which is actively at war with the United States, came to New York and spoke to the United Nations.

This was the most interesting phenomenon of the meetings. In Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States overthrew those governments very quickly, so this situation did not happen and the presidents of those countries did not rush to the United Nations to deliver a speech and defend themselves. During the Vietnam War, Vietnam was not yet a member of the United Nations, so it was new and somewhat strange that the Iranian president came to New York and delivered his speech while his country was at war with the United States.

Ironically, Iranian President Massoud Pashkian was protected by the US Secret Service. Different factions in Iran have their own interpretations of the situation. The first front is the Iranian protesters, who say that the Iranian president is protected but Iranians are not protected inside their own country, which is a paradox in itself. They say Iranians are not always safe It is protected by the service and the president can meet freely with anyone he wants. Another front of Iranians says their medical participation is in itself a symbol of the victory of the Iranian government and people, who have so far stood on their own feet and defended their survival.

Trump : Threats and use of naked force

How did Trump handle this situation? 

Last year, Trump began his presidency by attacking countries and insulting the United Nations, and people were worried that the United States, the UN's largest donor, would withdraw completely.

This year, from the UN’s perspective at least, his speech was more moderate. This may seem strange, because Trump talked about destroying the Islamic Republic, threatened war from the UN platform and wiped out Iran if they were not willing to negotiate.

Fortunately, however, Trump did not threaten the United Nations itself. In one respect, Trump did what politicians do at the UN General Assembly: He used the platform to send a message.

Then, just an hour after Trump’s speech, news reports indicated that the Iranians and Americans met behind the scenes for two hours. This is exactly what people do at the UN General Assembly; Although Trump had threatened to destroy his opponent only an hour earlier, news of the secret meeting was leaked.

Humanitarian action, not war solutions

Importantly, the UN is still a useful place for dialogue. But is he no longer involved in conflict resolution?

The primary task of the United Nations was to prevent and mediate international conflicts, and that task has been largely lost. Neither in Gaza nor in Iran did we see that the organization had no role in stopping the war. In the Iran conflict, it had no voice or influence. But this does not mean that the UN is just a place for dialogue, because people expect more from it.

When it comes to humanitarian aid globally , for example, it’s really just a major institution working in that area. Only the United Nations could provide humanitarian assistance to the victims of the floods in Nepal or the earthquakes in Colombia and Venezuela, or provide food aid in Gaza and Sudan.

The future president of the United Nations

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will step down in December. What should we expect? Who will replace him?

The organization has been looking for someone for the post of secretary general for a long time, but there is no clarity at the moment. Currently, according to my information, no suitable person has been found for this post because as far as I have noticed they want to choose someone who has courage and bravery and someone who can give a new routine to this organization eat his words. Guterres was a very passive person and had no significant role on the world stage. In my opinion, for this position, it is necessary to stop making a man president of the organization. Maybe if a capable woman is made president, she can give new energy and new courage to the institution.

Netanyahu and raising his pager

While the Palestinian leader was not given a visa and was not allowed to attend the meeting, he zoomed in on a recorded speech. He spoke of a two-state solution and genocide.

But hours later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shocked the world with a powerful speech. After some of the participants left the hall, Netanyahu said in his magical voice, "If there is any moral coward left in this hall, let him leave He divided the world media and said that Israel is defending itself and is not afraid of anyone.

"Our country is only the size of New Jersey, but for three years we have fought in seven countries on seven fronts and broken the backs of our enemies," Netanyahu said. He lashed out at Britain, France, Turkey, Qatar and Iran, and even New York Mayor Mamdani, who had threatened to arrest Netanyahu, said he was here and why no one could arrest him.

Bibi's speech reaffirmed to the world the fact that the Israelis themselves often refer to the term no Jews no news, that is, if there are no Jews, there is no news in the world.

Bibi's speech and the participation of Silicon Valley billiards players and technology inventors such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Sam Altman at the White House dinner received more media attention than Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit and welcome by Trump.