UN News Today 08 June 2026 |

As Middle East crisis erupts again, IAEA’s Grossi urges more engagement

After Israel and Iran exchanged fire over the weekend in a major new escalation of the Middle East crisis, the world’s atomic watchdog said on Monday that it remained ready to support any eventual agreement regarding Iran’s nuclear programme.

Speaking at the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Director-General Rafael Grossi noted that the agency has not been able to verify Iran’s nuclear material, since Israeli and US strikes in June 2025.

This includes 440 kilogrammes of highly enriched uranium, along with other Iranian nuclear facilities damaged in last June’s 12-day war, Mr. Grossi said:

“We seem to be in the midst of a complicated phase where attacks seem to be picking up again, and of course, rhetoric is again being more hostile. But we’ve seen this before, and we’ve also seen moments where things tend to cool down a bit. What we continue to say, my message must be the same. We need this engagement.”

The IAEA chief stressed that any nuclear deal between the United States and Iran would be of little value without proper verification by the agency that the terms of the accord were being followed.

In the wider Gulf region, Mr. Grossi also highlighted deep concerns over nuclear safety following a powerful drone strike on Barakah power plant in the United Arab Emirates on 17 May.

Although there was no radiation risk and no one was injured, emergency backup diesel generators had to be used after the drone’s “significant explosive payload” damaged the electrical supply, the IAEA chief explained.

Aid agencies rush to help Philippines earthquake survivors: WFP

Aid teams in the Philippines ramped up operations on Monday after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed at least 32 people and injured around 200 more.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) reported that the quake struck offshore in Mindanao in the southernmost part of the country at 7.37am local time.

Several cities in Mindanao suffered damage, including General Santos, Sarangani and Davao.

The Philippines is the most disaster-prone country in the world and last year was hit by two major earthquakes. The UN is on hand to provide support, said WFP representative and country director Regis Chapman:

“Unfortunately, the country is quite accustomed to having to deal with calamities such as this…The World Food Programme stands by ready to support the government in those efforts, and we’re already in the process of deploying emergency logistics equipment and a logistics staff to support government’s efforts to establish a emergency response hub and logistics centre in the southern part of the country.”

According to reports, the earthquake triggered a tsunami around one metre high, causing damage to coastal communities. 

The Filipino authorities said that 17 of those killed about 20 kilometres – or    12.5 miles from the quake epicentre, had died in a landslide.

With UN climate talks underway, it’s time to deliver: UNFCCC

International climate change adaptation talks got underway in Bonn, Germany, on Monday, where the UN’s top negotiator, Simon Stiell, insisted that countries must deliver on the promises they made in the French capital, back in 2015.

“Now’s the time to double down on delivering in full on the Paris Climate Agreement” of keeping the rise in global temperatures to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, said Mr. Stiell, who heads the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The talks in Germany come at a critical time with climate impacts worsening.

Mr. Stiell pointed to the extreme heatwave in Europe in June last year that was linked to 2,300 excess deaths in a single day, and the sky-high cost of fuel, driven by conflict in the Middle East.

“Continuing our fossil fuel dependency means continuing to import inflation and economic instability,” he maintained, adding that this reliance leaves countries exposed to energy insecurity and climate disaster.

The climate talks are happening against a backdrop of record investment in renewables. 

Delegations from all over the world are expected to focus on advancing climate resilience, as well as the protection of workers and communities, delivering agreed finance commitments and ensuring no country is left behind in the global clean energy boom. 

Daniel Johnson, UN News