Melania Trump became the first spouse of a sitting world leader to preside over a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, calling for the protection of children's education in conflict zones. The meeting came days after Iranian state media reported that an airstrike killed at least 165 people at a girls' school in southern Iran.
The first lady did not address the reported school strike or the ongoing conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran. Instead, she focused on education as a tool for peace, stating that "a nation that makes learning sacred protects its books, its language, its science and its mathematics". She also urged the council to harness artificial intelligence to "connect everyone to knowledge".
Iran's UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, criticised the US for convening the meeting while launching airstrikes on Iranian cities, calling it "deeply shameful and hypocritical". The US holds the council's monthly presidency for March.
The session was scheduled before the US and Israeli strikes on Saturday. The White House said Melania Trump's involvement reflects her focus on child welfare. The meeting followed a contentious emergency session on Saturday where the UN secretary general condemned the strikes and Iran's retaliatory attacks as violations of international law.
