When tensions rise between Iran and the United States, the world looks to the United Nations for a voice capable of preventing a wider conflict.
The UN can bring nations to the table, call for restraint, and give smaller countries a forum to be heard.
Yet its Security Council can struggle to act when the interests of powerful members collide.
That limitation makes the UN appear weak precisely when decisive action matters most.
Calling it a paper tiger, however, overlooks the value of diplomacy that keeps channels open even when agreement seems distant.
The real question is whether member states will give the UN the cooperation needed to turn its warnings into peace.