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Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at changing United Nations<\/strong> leadership, new doubts over U.S.-Iran<\/strong> peace talks, and Japan<\/strong>\u2019s massive defense export overhaul.<\/p>\n It is time to choose who will next lead the United Nations. On Tuesday and Wednesday, four candidates vying to succeed U.N. Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres will be grilled on several pressing global issues<\/a>, from ongoing conflicts to climate change, as well as on how they envision reshaping the organization\u2019s mandate.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at changing United Nations<\/strong> leadership, new doubts over U.S.-Iran<\/strong> peace talks, and Japan<\/strong>\u2019s massive defense export overhaul.<\/p>\n It is time to choose who will next lead the United Nations. On Tuesday and Wednesday, four candidates vying to succeed U.N. Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres will be grilled on several pressing global issues<\/a>, from ongoing conflicts to climate change, as well as on how they envision reshaping the organization\u2019s mandate.<\/p>\n \u201cIn a nutshell, this is one of the toughest jobs in the world,\u201d said Annalena Baerbock<\/a>, the president of the U.N. General Assembly. \u201cBut it is also one of the most important, as the next secretary-general will not only shape the future of this institution but, in her or his role as the strongest defender of the U.N. Charter, also that of the international rules-based order.\u201d<\/p>\n The current front-runner is Rafael Grossi<\/a>, the director-general of the U.N.\u2019s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). With a reputation for being a man of action<\/a>, the former Argentine diplomat is known for his shuttle diplomacy in the Russia-Ukraine and Iran wars. Among his most notable achievements, Grossi stationed<\/a> an IAEA team at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in September 2022, and he has engaged in nuclear talks<\/a> with Tehran in recent months, though some critics have argued that Grossi has been too soft on Iran\u2019s uranium enrichment ambitions.<\/p>\n Grossi will be questioned on Tuesday alongside Michelle Bachelet, who if chosen would become the first woman to lead the United Nations. Bachelet has an extensive r\u00e9sum\u00e9; she held two terms as the president of Chile, served as the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, and acted as the executive director of U.N. Women.<\/p>\n However, Bachelet\u2019s progressive policies have made her a controversial candidate. In March, the far-right government of Chilean President Jos\u00e9 Antonio Kast withdrew its support for Bachelet, though she retained the backing of Brazil and Mexico. That same month, 28 U.S. Republican lawmakers<\/a> asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to veto Bachelet, calling her a \u201cpro-abortion zealot intent on using political authority to override state sovereignty in favor of extreme agendas.\u201d She has also faced criticism<\/a> for downplaying China\u2019s treatment of Uyghur Muslims, which experts have called a genocide.<\/p>\n The other female candidate in the running is Rebeca Grynspan<\/a>, a former vice president of Costa Rica and the head of the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development. As an economist, Grynspan has advocated for gender equality, human rights, peace, and development. She will face live questioning on Wednesday alongside former Senegalese President Macky Sall.<\/p>\n Sall, if chosen, would be the U.N.\u2019s third African secretary-general. During his tenure as Senegal\u2019s president, Sall oversaw the completion of major infrastructure projects, championed African development, and argued that the U.N. Security Council should give developing countries a permanent seat. At the same time, though, he has been accused of orchestrating a \u201cconstitutional coup<\/a>\u201d in 2024 after he postponed elections to extend his presidential term.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s pool of just four candidates is drastically smaller<\/a> than the United Nations\u2019 last round in 2016, when 13 individuals sought the top spot, though three of these candidates withdrew before the final vote. Some analysts point to increasing global fragmentation and the U.N.\u2019s diminished status as reasons for this.<\/p>\n In the coming weeks, the U.N. Security Council will give the General Assembly its recommendation for who should become the next secretary-general. Many foreign leaders, including Guterres, have pushed for a woman<\/a> to be chosen, though some experts fear that the Trump administration may use its Security Council veto power to prevent Bachelet or Grynspan from taking office. The next U.N. chief will start his or her five-year term on Jan. 1, 2027.<\/p>\n World\u2019s Toughest Job<\/em>, a new podcast from Foreign Policy<\/em> and the U.N. Foundation, explores what kind of leader the world body needs at this precarious moment and how the next secretary-general will be chosen. Watch the trailer<\/a>.<\/p>\n TACO Tuesday. <\/strong>U.S. President Donald Trump announced<\/a> on Tuesday that he will extend the United States\u2019 two-week cease-fire with Iran indefinitely, just hours before it was set to expire on Wednesday. This is an apparent reversal of Trump\u2019s earlier threats, such as when he told CNBC<\/a> that the U.S. military is \u201craring to go\u201d should a second round of peace talks in Islamabad fail.<\/p>\n It remains unclear whether the peace talks will occur. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, who heads the U.S. delegation, was supposed to leave Washington on Tuesday morning to travel to Islamabad; however, the New York Times<\/em> reported<\/a> on Tuesday afternoon that his departure had been put on hold. Meanwhile, Tehran has not publicly confirmed its participation, with lead negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf writing on X on Monday that Iran will not attend talks under \u201cthe shadow of threats.\u201d<\/p>\n These \u201cthreats\u201d may include the U.S. military\u2019s seizure of an oil tanker carrying Iranian crude in international waters overnight on Tuesday. According to the U.S. Defense Department, the Tifani <\/em>was believed to be smuggling Iranian crude to Southeast Asia when it was boarded while passing through the Bay of Bengal. Trump on Tuesday said that the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports will continue.<\/p>\n Defense policy overhaul. <\/strong>Japan scrapped<\/a> a ban on overseas lethal arms sales on Tuesday in the country\u2019s biggest overhaul of defense export rules in decades. The move\u2014which will pave the way for Tokyo to sell warships, fighter jets, and missiles\u2014marks a massive pivot for Japan\u2019s postwar pacifist policy, as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi seeks to counter growing security threats in the Indo-Pacific.<\/p>\n Japan\u2019s post-World War II constitution prohibits most arms exports apart from those related to rescue, transport, alert, surveillance, and minesweeping. However, in recent months, Takaichi has pushed for Tokyo to bolster its military capabilities after she characterized<\/a> a potential future Chinese attack on Taiwan as a \u201csurvival-threatening\u201d situation that could permit Japan to take military action.<\/p>\n \u201cIn an increasingly severe security environment, no single country can now protect its own peace and security alone, and partner countries that support each other in terms of defense equipment are necessary,\u201d Takaichi wrote<\/a> on X.<\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s export overhaul will be limited to 17 countries<\/a> that have already signed defense equipment and technology transfer agreements with Japan. In principle, Tokyo will not export lethal weapons to nations currently at war.<\/p>\n Arson attacks on Jewish sites. <\/strong>British police announced<\/a> on Tuesday that they have arrested eight people suspected of being linked to a series of arson attacks in London in recent days, including an alleged plot against Jewish sites. Also on Tuesday, a British teenager pleaded guilty<\/a> to an arson attack on Kenton United Synagogue, a Jewish place of worship. All of the arrests are part of a larger British counterterrorism operation investigating rising antisemitism in the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n Global incidents of antisemitism have risen drastically since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October 2023. Last month, four ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity in London were set on fire<\/a>. Since then, several arson attacks across the country have targeted Jewish- or Israel-linked sites as well as one Persian media outlet that was critical of Tehran.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of our key lines of inquiry is whether criminal proxies\u2014that is to say, people being paid money to carry out a crime\u2014are being used,\u201d said Vicki Evans<\/a>, the senior national coordinator of London\u2019s police counterterrorism force. Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, an Iranian proxy group, has claimed responsibility<\/a> for several of these assaults.<\/p>\n Japan\u2019s Punch is not the only monkey loving his plushies. Yuji, a 6-week-old patas monkey in Mexico\u2019s Guadalajara Zoo, also wakes up every morning clinging to a stuffed toy. Like Japan\u2019s snow monkey, who went viral earlier this year for having his own emotional support animal, Yuji too found comfort<\/a> in a children\u2019s toy after his mother rejected him. Zookeepers are optimistic that Yuji\u2019s stuffed dog will help him socialize; last Friday, Japan\u2019s Ichikawa City Zoo revealed<\/a> that Punch rarely relies on his plushie these days\u2014and may even have a girlfriend!<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nReplacing Guterres<\/h3>\n
Replacing Guterres<\/h3>\n
Today\u2019s Most Read<\/h3>\n
What We\u2019re Following<\/h3>\n
Odds and Ends<\/h3>\n