Melania Trump to chair UN Security Council as Iran war rages

2026-03-02 - 15:27

First Lady Melania Trump is slated to chair a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, an appearance that was announced last week before the United States launched its war against Iran. Her office said the former model would “make history at the United Nations, taking the gavel as the United States assumes the Security Council Presidency to emphasize education’s role in advancing tolerance and world peace.” Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, confirmed Melania’s event would mark the first time a first lady — or first gentleman — has presided over a Security Council meeting. The United States will hold the Council’s rotating presidency in March. President Donald Trump’s third wife has dabbled in diplomacy before, notably working to try to secure the release of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. Political and financial tensions have mounted between the United States and the United Nations in recent years, with Washington chafing at its role as the main contributor to the cash-strapped UN’s budget. Many observers say the US president intends to bypass the Security Council with his so-called “Board of Peace” — which held its inaugural session in Washington last month, with several countries pledging funds and personnel to rebuild Gaza. At the meeting, Donald Trump repeated his stance that the UN has failed in its mission. Since returning to the White House last year, he has withdrawn support from several major UN agencies, such as the World Health Organization. “Diplomats will be aware of the contradictions in the US promoting a meeting about children, education and peace mere months after it boycotted UN offices working on similar topics,” International Crisis Group analyst Daniel Forti. “Most Council members will want to ‘play nice’ when Melania is in the room, as few would risk damaging their bilateral relations with Washington over a UN meeting with little consequence.” The world body has recently launched a reform program, and just a few days ago Washington paid $160 million into the organization’s regular budget — after paying nothing in 2025. But the United States is still $4 billion in arrears to the UN for its regular budget and its peacekeeping budget, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warning of imminent financial collapse. A US-Israeli military campaign began Saturday with a bombing that killed Iran’s supreme leader in Tehran. Iran has retaliated with missile and drone attacks on countries across the Middle East.