• US to withdraw from 35 non-UN groups, 31 UN entities.
• Trump cites conflict with US interests for withdrawal.
• Move reflects Trump’s scepticism of multilateral institutions.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States would withdraw from dozens of international and UN entities, including a key climate treaty and a UN Body that promotes gender equality and women’s empowerment, because they “operate contrary to US national interests.”

Among the 35 non-UN groups and 31 UN entities Trump listed in a memo, opens new tab to senior administration officials is the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change — described by many as the “bedrock” climate treaty which is parent agreement to the 2015 Paris climate deal.

The United States skipped the annual UN international climate summit last year for the first time in three decades.

“The United States would be the first country to walk away from the UNFCCC,” said Manish Bapna, president and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

“Every other nation is a member, in part because they recognize that even beyond the moral imperative of addressing climate change, having a seat at the table in those negotiations represents an ability to shape massive economic policy and opportunity,” said Bapna.

The US will also quit UN Women, which works for gender equality and the empowerment of women, and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the international body’s agency focused on family planning as well as maternal and child health in more than 150 countries. The US cut its funding for the UNFPA last year.

“For United Nations entities, withdrawal means ceasing participation in or funding to those entities to the extent permitted by law,” reads the memo. Trump has already largely slashed voluntary funding to most UN agencies.

A spokesperson for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump wary of multilateral organisations

Trump’s move reflects his long-standing wariness of multilateral institutions, particularly the United Nations. He has repeatedly questioned the effectiveness, cost and accountability of international bodies, arguing they often fail to serve US interests.

Since beginning his second term a year ago, Trump has sought to slash US funding for the United Nations, stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA and quit the UN cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced plans to quit the World Health Organsation and the Paris climate agreement.

Other entities on the US list are the UN Conference on Trade and Development, the International Energy Forum, the UN Register of Conventional Arms and the UN Peacebuilding Commission.

The White House said the dozens of entities that Washington was seeking to depart as soon as possible promote “radical climate policies, global governance, and ideological programs that conflict with US sovereignty and economic strength.”

A US immigration agent shot and killed a 37-year-old woman in her car in Minneapolis on Wednesday during an immigration enforcement surge, according to local and federal officials, the latest violence in President Donald Trump’s nationwide crackdown on migrants.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey rejected the Trump administration’s claim that the agent fired in self-defence, saying video of the shooting contradicted the government’s version.

Frey blamed federal agents for unrest in the city but urged residents to remain calm, while Democratic leaders criticised the ICE operation as unnecessary and provocative.

Authorities identified the woman as Renee Nicole Good, saying she was caring for neighbours before being killed.

Large crowds gathered at the scene as tensions rose and federal officers used chemical irritants. Opponents of Trump called for nationwide protests.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Good “weaponised” her vehicle and tried to hit an officer.

However, videos raised doubts, showing agents approaching her car before shots were fired.

The vehicle then crashed after the shooting.

Good’s family described her as compassionate, while local officials said she was not a target of immigration raids.

Minnesota’s governor criticised the federal operation and placed the National Guard on alert.

Trump defended the agent, calling the shooting self-defence, while the incident deepened political polarisation.

Witnesses described emergency crews performing CPR as outrage grew.

The shooting occurred amid a massive federal crackdown tied to fraud investigations involving Somali immigrants, with thousands of officers deployed and hundreds of arrests reported.

Two security officials were killed and 30 others were left wounded by firing of armed protesters as violence erupted in Lordegan city in Iran’s Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, according to Iranian media.

Nationwide protests over economic grievances have entered their 11th day in parts of Iran, with the latest demonstrations reported in Lordegan and Bojnord in the northeastern province of North Khorasan.

According to Iran’s Fars news agency, the unrest began when around 300 shopkeepers closed their businesses at about 10pm on Wednesday and gathered in several streets near the Khardoun neighbourhood and Shirouni Bridge, chanting slogans.

Authorities said tensions escalated after certain individuals infiltrated the gathering and provoked clashes with police. During the confrontation, some protesters allegedly pelted security personnel with stones.

Fars reported that armed individuals within the crowd opened fire on police using “various military-grade and hunting weapons”, leaving two dead and at least 30 others injured.

The report added that demonstrators also vandalised the governor’s office and several other administrative buildings in Lordegan during the clashes.

Separately, a shop was set on fire in the city of Bojnord in Iran’s northeastern border province of North Khorasan, while a civilian’s vehicle was narrowly saved from being torched by protesters, Iranian officials said.

Furthermore, a pro-government demonstration was held in Iran’s western province of Hamedan, where participants chanted slogans against economic pressure on the country.

Protesters were seen carrying posters of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran’s national flag, while also staging a protest against Israel.

The demonstrators expressed strong opposition to what they described as attempts to spread violence, insecurity and chaos within the country.

New protests

According to videos published by rights groups on social media, new protests took place at different points across the country on Wednesday, with streets thronged with protesters in some cases.

Norway-based rights group IHR published a video of people massing in the streets of Bojnurd in the north-east of the country, shouting slogans including “an Iranian can die but will not accept humiliation”.

The Tasnim news agency reported that rioters had attacked a mosque and a shop selling religious books.

Another protest was reported in the upscale Shemiran district of Tehran, with protesters shouting “death to the dictator” and “freedom”, IHR said.

The US-based HRANA group posted a video of a crowd demonstrating in the Gulf port of Bandar Abbas, with people shouting slogans including “don’t be spectators, join us” and “this is the final battle, Pahlavi will come back”, referring to the dynasty of the deposed shah.

Large numbers of protesters also took to the streets in Aligudarz in western Iran, with people chanting slogans including “this is the year of blood, Seyyed Ali will be toppled” in reference to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to footage broadcast by the Iran International channel, which is based outside the country.

Iran’s Fars news agency, meanwhile, reported deadly clashes in the country’s south-west that killed two people and wounded 30.

Fars said that shopkeepers were protesting in Lordergan when “rioters began throwing stones at the police”.

“Among them, there were individuals with military and hunting weapons who suddenly opened fire on the police,” the agency added.

It said the two dead were police officers.

Nationwide, protests have spread to 25 of Iran’s 31 provinces, according to an AFP tally based on official statements and local media.

President urges restraint

In a video released by the news agency Mehr after a cabinet meeting, Vice President Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah said Pezeshkian had “ordered that no security measures be taken against the demonstrators”.

“Those who carry firearms, knives and machetes and who attack police stations and military sites are rioters, and we must distinguish protesters from rioters,” Ghaempanah added.

Security forces have now killed at least 27 protesters, including five people under the age of 18, the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) said on Tuesday.

Iranian media outlets, relaying official announcements, have reported 15 deaths, including members of the security forces and a policeman who was shot dead on Tuesday.