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UN Says Ethiopia Detains 72 WFP Drivers

An Ethiopian woman, who fled the ongoing fighting in Tigray region, holds her child under a World Food Program banner in Hamdayet village on the Sudan-Ethiopia border, in the eastern Kassala state, Sudan December 15, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah
An Ethiopian woman, who fled the ongoing fighting in Tigray region, holds her child under a World Food Program banner in Hamdayet village on the Sudan-Ethiopia border, in the eastern Kassala state, Sudan December 15, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah
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UN Says Ethiopia Detains 72 WFP Drivers

An Ethiopian woman, who fled the ongoing fighting in Tigray region, holds her child under a World Food Program banner in Hamdayet village on the Sudan-Ethiopia border, in the eastern Kassala state, Sudan December 15, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah
An Ethiopian woman, who fled the ongoing fighting in Tigray region, holds her child under a World Food Program banner in Hamdayet village on the Sudan-Ethiopia border, in the eastern Kassala state, Sudan December 15, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah

The United Nations said Wednesday that Ethiopia had detained 72 aid drivers to the conflict-torn north, the latest roundups despite an international push to end a brutal war.

The news, which came a day after the UN reported the arrests of employees in the capital Addis Ababa, is likely to further inflame tensions with the government following a decision in September to expel seven senior UN officials for "meddling" in the country's affairs.

A UN spokesperson said the latest detentions targeted contract drivers for the World Food Program (WFP) in the capital of Afar province, on the only functional road leading into famine-threatened Tigray.

"We confirm that 72 outsourced drivers contracted by WFP have been detained in Semera. We are liaising with the government of Ethiopia to understand the reasons behind their detention," a UN spokesperson said.

At the world body's headquarters, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, "We are calling for their release."

AFP quoted him as saying that at least nine UN staff members also remained in custody in Addis Ababa, a day after saying that 22 had been rounded up.

Officials last week announced a six-month nationwide emergency amid rising fears that fighters from the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) rebel groups could advance on the capital.

Lawyers say arbitrary detentions of ethnic Tigrayans -- commonplace during the war -- have surged since then, ensnaring thousands, with the new measures allowing the authorities to hold anyone suspected of supporting "terrorist groups" without a warrant.

Law enforcement officials describe such detentions as part of a legitimate crackdown on the TPLF and OLA.

Information on the ethnicity of the drivers detained in Semera was not immediately available, though the UN has in the past hired ethnic Tigrayans to transport food and other aid into Tigray.

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Iran’s Khamenei Criticizes US Proposal in Nuclear Talks but Doesn’t Reject the Idea of a Deal 

Iranians drive past a wall painting of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei (R) and late Iranian supreme leader Khomeini (L) on a street in Tehran, Iran, 01 June 2025. (EPA)
Iranians drive past a wall painting of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei (R) and late Iranian supreme leader Khomeini (L) on a street in Tehran, Iran, 01 June 2025. (EPA)
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Iran’s Khamenei Criticizes US Proposal in Nuclear Talks but Doesn’t Reject the Idea of a Deal 

Iranians drive past a wall painting of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei (R) and late Iranian supreme leader Khomeini (L) on a street in Tehran, Iran, 01 June 2025. (EPA)
Iranians drive past a wall painting of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei (R) and late Iranian supreme leader Khomeini (L) on a street in Tehran, Iran, 01 June 2025. (EPA)

Iran's supreme leader on Wednesday criticized an initial proposal from the United States in negotiations over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program, though he stopped short of entirely rejecting the idea of agreement with Washington. 

The remarks by Ali Khamenei colored in the red line expressed over recent days — one that says Tehran refuses to give up enriching uranium in any possible deal with the US. 

That demand has been repeatedly made by American officials, including President Donald Trump, though it remains unclear just how much US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff brought it up in his initial proposal to Iran. 

But what Khamenei did not say in his speech matters as well. He didn't reject the talks, which Iran views as crucial for its economy to lift some the crushing economic sanctions it faces. 

Khamenei also did not insist on any specific level of nuclear enrichment. Iran now enriches uranium up to 60% — a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels. 

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who has led the talks with Witkoff, said Tehran soon will offer its response to the US Khamenei's speech Wednesday at the mausoleum of Khomeini may serve as a preview. 

“If we had 100 nuclear power plants while not having enrichment, they are not usable for us,” Khamenei said. “If we do not have enrichment, then we should extend our hand (begging) to the US.” 

Khamenei touched on previous remarks The 86-year-old Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state in Iran, often balances his remarks over the demands of reformists within the country who want the talks against hard-line elements within Iran’s theocracy, including the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. 

Late in August, Khamenei in a speech opened the door to possible talks with the US, saying there is “no harm” in engaging with the “enemy.” The supreme leader later tempered that, saying that negotiations with America “are not intelligent, wise or honorable,” after Trump floated nuclear talks with Tehran. 

Khamenei's speech on Wednesday, marking the anniversary of Khomeini's death, offered an opportunity to discuss Witkoff's proposal. He described it as “100% against the idea of ‘we can,’” borrowing from an Iranian government slogan. He described the US as having long sought the dismantling of Iran’s entire nuclear industry. 

“The impolite and insolent American leaders keep repeating this demand with different wordings," Khamenei said. 

He added, using a slogan he's said before: “Those currently in power, Zionist or American, should be aware that they can’t do a damn thing about this." 

Some nuclear power nations do get uranium from outside suppliers, however. Experts long have viewed Iran as using its nuclear program as a chip in negotiations with the West to get sanctions relief. 

The details of the American proposal remain unclear after five rounds of talks between Iran and the US. 

A report by the news website Axios on the American proposal, the details of which a US official separately confirmed, include a possible nuclear consortium that would enrich uranium for Iran and surrounding nations.  

Whether Iran would have to entirely give up its enrichment program remains unclear, as Axios reported that Iran would be able to enrich uranium up to 3% purity for some time. 

A failure to get a deal could see tensions further spike in a Middle East already on edge over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. 

Iran's long-ailing economy could enter a free fall that could worsen the simmering unrest at home. Israel or the US might carry out long-threatened airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities. And Tehran may decide to fully end its cooperation with the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog and rush toward a bomb.