UNICEF Projects 20% Drop in 2026 Funding After US Cuts 

A view shows the logo on the exterior of UNICEF's humanitarian warehouse in Copenhagen, Denmark, November 15, 2023. (Reuters) 
A view shows the logo on the exterior of UNICEF's humanitarian warehouse in Copenhagen, Denmark, November 15, 2023. (Reuters) 
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UNICEF Projects 20% Drop in 2026 Funding After US Cuts 

A view shows the logo on the exterior of UNICEF's humanitarian warehouse in Copenhagen, Denmark, November 15, 2023. (Reuters) 
A view shows the logo on the exterior of UNICEF's humanitarian warehouse in Copenhagen, Denmark, November 15, 2023. (Reuters) 

UNICEF has projected that its 2026 budget will shrink by at least 20% compared to 2024, a spokesperson for the UN children's agency said on Tuesday, after US President Donald Trump slashed global humanitarian aid.

In 2024, UNICEF had a budget of $8.9 billion and this year it has an estimated budget of $8.5 billion. The funding for 2025 is "evolving," the UNICEF spokesperson said.

"The last few weeks have made clear that humanitarian and development organizations around the world, including many UN organizations, are in the midst of a global funding crisis. UNICEF has not been spared," said the spokesperson.

UNICEF did not specifically name the US, but Washington has long been the agency's largest donor, contributing more than $800 million in 2024. Since UNICEF was established in 1946, all its executive directors have been American.

"At the moment, we are working off preliminary projections that our financial resources will be, at a minimum, 20% less, organization wide, in 2026 compared to 2024," said the UNICEF spokesperson.

Since returning to office in January for a second term, Trump's administration has cut billions of dollars in foreign assistance in a review that aimed to ensure programs align with his "America First" foreign policy.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said last week that it will cut 20% of its staff as it faces a shortfall of $58 million, after its largest donor, the United States, cut funding.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also last month said he is seeking ways to improve efficiency and cut costs as the world body turns 80 this year amid a cash crisis.

UNICEF has implemented some efficiency measures but "more cost-cutting steps will be required," said the spokesperson.

"We are looking at every aspect of our operation, including staffing, with the goal of focusing on what truly matters for children: that children survive and thrive," the spokesperson said. "But no final decisions have been taken."



Iran Says No Sanctions Relief in US Nuclear Proposal

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. AFP/File
Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. AFP/File
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Iran Says No Sanctions Relief in US Nuclear Proposal

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. AFP/File
Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. AFP/File

Iran's parliament speaker said on Sunday that the latest US proposal for a nuclear deal does not include the lifting of sanctions, state media reported as negotiations appeared to have hit a roadblock.

The two foes have held five rounds of Omani-mediated talks since April, seeking to replace a landmark agreement between Tehran and world powers that set restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief, before US President Donald Trump abandoned the accord in 2018 during his first term, said AFP.

In a video aired on Iranian state TV, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that "the US plan does not even mention the lifting of sanctions".

He called it a sign of dishonesty, accusing the Americans of seeking to impose a "unilateral" agreement that Tehran would not accept.

"The delusional US president should know better and change his approach if he is really looking for a deal," Ghalibaf said.

On May 31, after the fifth round of talks, Iran said it had received "elements" of a US proposal, with officials later taking issue with "ambiguities" in the draft text.

The US and its Western allies have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, a charge Iran has consistently denied, insisting that its atomic program was solely for peaceful purposes.

Key issues in the negotiations have been the removal of biting economic sanctions and uranium enrichment.

Tehran says it has the right to enrich uranium under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, while the Trump administration has called any Iranian enrichment a "red line".

Trump, who has revived his "maximum pressure" campaign of sanctions on Iran since taking office in January, has repeatedly said it will not be allowed any uranium enrichment under a potential deal.

On Tuesday, Iran's top negotiator, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, said the country "will not ask anyone for permission to continue enriching uranium".

IAEA meeting

According to the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran is the only non-nuclear-weapon state in the world that enriches uranium up to 60 percent -- close to the 90 percent threshold needed for a nuclear warhead.

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Wednesday rejected the latest US proposal and said enrichment was "key" to Iran's nuclear program.

The IAEA Board of Governors is scheduled to meet in Vienna starting Monday and discuss Iran's nuclear activities.

On Sunday the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran warned it could reduce its level of cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog if it adopts a resolution against it.

"Certainly, the IAEA should not expect the Islamic Republic of Iran to continue its broad and friendly cooperation," the Iranian agency's spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi told state TV.

Araghchi on Friday accused European powers of "opting for malign action against Iran at the IAEA Board of Governors", warning on X that "Iran will react strongly against any violation of its rights".

A quarterly report from the IAEA issued last week cited a "general lack of cooperation" from Iran and raised concerns over undeclared nuclear material.

Tehran has rejected the report as politically motivated and based on "forged documents" it said had been provided by its arch foe Israel.