First lady Melania Trump chairs the United Nations Security Council at United Nations headquarters, Monday, March 2, 2026.
Angelina Katsanis/AP
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Angelina Katsanis/AP
UNITED NATIONS – US first lady Melania Trump chaired a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, focusing on children in conflict, one of her signature issues, and acknowledging that she was doing so at “challenging times” because the United States had joined Israel in attacking Iran.
“The US stands with all children around the world,” he said, speaking generally, not specifically about the new war in the Middle East. “I hope peace be with you soon.”
Iranian state media say Monday’s meeting was an airstrike that hit a girls’ school in southern Iran, killing at least 165 people and injuring dozens. The Israeli military said it was not aware of strikes in the area. The US military said it was investigating the reports.
Shortly before Monday’s session began, Amir Saeed Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the UN, said it was “very shameful and hypocritical” for the US to convene a meeting on protecting children during conflict while Iran is carrying out airstrikes on cities.
“For the United States, ‘protecting children’ and ‘maintaining international peace and security’ clearly have a different meaning than the UN Charter provides,” he told reporters.
UN political chief Rosemary DiCarlo said the UN was aware of reports of deaths at the girls’ school. He noted the impact that US-Israeli attacks and Iranian retaliatory strikes are having on children across the region.
“We have been reminded of this fact for the last two days,” he told the Security Council. “Schools in Israel, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman have been closed and shifted to remote learning due to ongoing military operations in the region,” he said.
Melania Trump is the first spouse of a world leader to hold the presidency of the United Nations, the most powerful body charged with ensuring global peace and security, according to the United Nations.
President Donald Trump’s wife was given the opportunity as the United States assumed the presidency of the council in March. In the past, presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers often used the gavel.
Closing the digital divide between developed and developing countries is important so all children have access to 21st century technology, speaker after speaker said Monday.
Melania Trump strongly advocated that all children should be connected to artificial intelligence to help them learn about the beliefs, customs and history of others. “AI is democratizing knowledge that was once confined to university libraries,” he said.
Drawing a link between knowledge and peace, he urged members of the Security Council to “defend learning”.
“Lasting peace is achieved when knowledge and understanding are fully valued in all our societies,” he said.
The US has cut funding to UN agencies that protect children
While the first lady has spoken about the need to protect children and their access to education and technology in conflict, her husband’s administration has cut funding to several UN agencies and other international organizations that address these issues.
Among them is the UN Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children in Armed Conflict, which provides detailed reporting on the impact of conflicts on children around the world. This information can help trigger action to prevent rape and violence against women and children. President Trump withdrew US support in January.
The US has dramatically cut funding to the UN children’s agency UNICEF and withdrawn from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO.
DiCarlo told the council that the world is facing the highest number of armed conflicts since World War II. “The number of civilians killed in these conflicts is the highest in decades,” he said. “Our reality is clear: when conflicts erupt, children are among those most affected.”
The First Lady arrived at the UN headquarters in a motor vehicle and was greeted by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. He shook hands with 15 members of the Security Council and posed for a group photo.
The rotating chairman of the council selects the topic and participants for certain meetings. Monday’s meeting was scheduled before the start of the war.
The council’s last meeting, on Saturday, was a controversial emergency session called in response to the outbreak of war. Guterres condemned the US and Israeli airstrikes as a violation of international law, including the UN Charter. He condemned Iran’s retaliatory attack for violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations in the Middle East.
Melania Trump supports Ukrainian children
Melania Trump took the unusual step of writing to Russian President Vladimir Putin before a summit with her husband last summer and later announced that the effort had led to the reunification of a group of children displaced by the Russia-Ukraine war with their families.
As a result of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia took Ukrainian children out of their country so they could be raised as Russian. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has lobbied world leaders for help reuniting the families.
