United Nations and U.S. Diplomacy

The White House says First Lady Melania Trump will go ahead with plans to preside over a United Nations Security Council meeting in New York on Monday focused on education’s role in 'advancing tolerance and world peace,' even as U.S. and Israeli forces continue joint strikes on Iran. The session, scheduled for 3 p.m. ET at U.N. headquarters, makes her the first first lady to chair a Security Council meeting, a role normally reserved for senior diplomats and heads of government. The confirmation comes days after the opening phase of Operation Epic Fury, in which one U.S.–Israeli strike killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and an Iranian attack on Kuwait killed four U.S. service members, according to the Pentagon. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz is expected to attend alongside the first lady, placing her at the center of a high‑stakes diplomatic tableau while the administration faces scrutiny at home and abroad over the legality and risks of the Iran campaign. The juxtaposition of a peace‑through‑education theme with an expanding regional war is already drawing notice online, where critics question the optics and substance of the event and supporters frame it as soft‑power outreach in parallel with hard‑power operations.