Renewed diplomacy across West Africa and the Sahel is beginning to yield tangible improvements, even as an increasingly sophisticated terrorist threat continues to wreak havoc across the region, particularly in the central Sahel and northern Nigeria, the senior UN official for the region told the Security Council today.
As the Security Council adopted a resolution extending the Secretary-General’s monthly reporting mandate concerning Houthi attacks in the Red Sea for six additional months, the representatives of United States and China exchanged words about the causes and solutions for the current volatility in the Middle East.
The Security Council will hear a briefing this morning on West Africa and the Sahel. Special Representative and Head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) Leonardo Santos Simão will present the Secretary-General’s latest report, S/2026/537, which covers developments from 29 November 2025 to 30 June 2026.
Holding an emergency meeting following reports of unauthorized Iranian flights to and from Yemen in recent days, the Security Council today heard, once again, that de-escalation must be the priority so that Yemen is not further entangled in the conflict destabilizing the region.
Following the collapse of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and the region’s chaotic recent military escalations, the United Nations dedicated nuclear agency has “lost continuity of knowledge” about the Iranian nuclear programme it was once tasked with overseeing, the Security Council heard today, in a briefing by the Organization’s senior political affairs officer.
On 6 July 2026, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1970 (2011) concerning Libya issued its Implementation Assistance Notice (IAN) 8: “Guidance on the application of the exemption established by paragraph 14 of Security Council resolution 2769 (2025) concerning the reinvestment of certain frozen cash reserves of the Libyan Investment Authority”.
The Security Council is set to discuss the implementation of resolution 2231 (2015), which endorsed the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and major world Powers, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). A UN official is expected to present the Secretary-General’s latest report on the resolution’s implementation, covering developments since December 2025.
The Security Council today repeatedly heard that there is no military solution for the war in Ukraine, as senior UN officials detailed escalating attacks on civilians, human rights violations and humanitarian restrictions.
At 10 a.m., the Security Council will hear a briefing on Ukraine following two major waves of drone and missile attacks, overnight 1-2 July and 5-6 July, by the Russian Federation on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
