The big immediate issues at the UN discussed in the Week in Review, as in the main news section, were the controversy over Franco's Spain and the continued Soviet-occupation of northern Iran. The Soviet Union was at the center of both disagreements. Most observers felt that if the UN was not to follow the League of Nations into impotency and oblivion both the United States and the Soviet Union, the two countries that had emerged as the world's only remaining superpowers, had to participate and cooperate. Of course some people in both nations did not want the UN to succeed, wanting their own nations free to pursue their individual interests, the rest of the world be damned.
The position of the Soviet Union and its satellites in the UN was that overthrowing Franco was a high priority, a piece of unfinished business from the war. The US and Great Britain opposed interference in Spanish internal affairs that would lead to a resumption of the Civil War. Neither side in that conflict had shown much of a commitment to democracy except as a talking point. Poland, France, Mexico and possibly China were seen as supporting the Soviets on this issue in the Security Council. It was not yet known how the Netherlands, Australia, Egypt and Brazil would vote.
The Russians also wanted the Security Council to drop their resolution to review the Iranian situation after the May 6 date that had been set for the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the northern provinces. This decision had been reached during the absence of Soviet foreign minister Andrei Gromyko. The US was opposed to the Soviet position . It was expected that the Russian demand would be defeated in the Security Council unless Iran withdrew its request for action. The Soviets were using their continued presence in Iran to strengthen the hand of their allies within the Iranian government and to win oil concessions and territory in the north.
The Week in Review section also noted that the chairmanship of the Security Council would pass in the coming week from China to Egypt and that the UN would be moving into temporary headquarters in Flushing Meadows at the site of the 1939 World's Fair with additional offices in Lake Success at the Sperry Gyroscope facilities. The Times managing editor analyzed the problems that the UN faced in finding a new home in another article in the section.