Melania Trump makes history, pushes for ‘peace through education’ amid Iran firestorm

First Lady Melania Trump chaired the meeting United Nations Security Council At Monday’s meeting, he declared that the United States “stands with all children around the world,” in a historic speech calling for “peace through education,” amid US military intervention in Iran.

The First Lady’s speech marked the first time a first lady from any country – and the first time a first lady in the United States – had presided over the conference. Security Council Its members also consider education, technology, peace and security.

The United States assumed the presidency of the United Nations Security Council on Monday, just days after the United States and Israel launched a large-scale joint military operation against Iran over the weekend known as “Operation Epic Fury.”

Delegates attend a UN Security Council meeting on February 24, 2026 in New York City. (John Lambarski/Getty Images)

The attacks resulted in the deaths of senior leaders, including Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The joint military operation is expected to continue for days, as the US military continues to target military targets and ballistic missile sites that pose an “imminent threat.”

President Donald Trump warned over the weekend of Iranian retaliation, saying that if Iran strikes “very hard,” it will face “power like it has never seen before.”

But the first lady’s appearance at the United Nations was scheduled before the start of “Operation Epic Fury.”

“The United States stands with all children around the world,” the first lady said Monday. “I hope peace will come soon.”

The United Nations Security Council consists of 15 member states, with five permanent members: the United States, China, France, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom, and 10 non-permanent members elected to two-year terms, including Bahrain, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Greece, Latvia, Liberia, Pakistan, Panama, and Somalia.

“Collectively, your mission of maintaining security while upholding the responsibility to prevent conflicts in times of war and peace is important, should be applied equally, and should never be undertaken lightly,” she said. “Peace does not need to be fragile.”

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attend a ceremony commemorating the 24th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Thursday, September 11, 2025, at the Pentagon in Washington. Trump revealed at the ceremony that Charlie Kirk will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. (AFP/Evan Vucci)

The First Lady’s speech focused on education, saying it “forms the core of their country’s belief system.”

“A nation that makes learning sacred protects its books, language, science and mathematics, and protects its future,” she said. “This leads to something powerful – to greater understanding, moral thinking, and tolerance for others. Peace.”

The First Lady emphasized that children who grow up in cultures rooted in intelligence “grow confidence, innovate, build, compete, and maintain a deep value system.”

“Their knowledge fosters empathy for others, transcending geography, religion, race, gender, and even local norms,” she said. “They become interested people.”

Melania Trump launches Presidential AI Challenge for students

On the contrary, the first lady said, children growing up in a culture “rooted in ignorance are surrounded by chaos, and sometimes even conflict.”

“These societies are full of sclerotic thinkers who espouse prejudice and eschew human dignity,” she said. “When a nation restricts its thought, it restricts its future.”

The First Lady said education is a “fundamental human right,” but said that “too many children and young people are prevented from attending secondary schools and universities.”

“Cost is not abstract,” she said. “A society that excludes large segments of its population can only achieve a small portion of its potential. Thus, societies governed by knowledge and wisdom are more peaceful.”

“Knowledge is power,” the First Lady declared, “We must capture this positive energy and ignite it across continents to transform our world — across our digitally connected human race.”

“Thought thrives on basic human needs: shelter, food security, clean water, and health care.”

“The global community must facilitate full access to technology so that every individual can achieve their full potential through education,” she said. “We must strive to achieve connectivity in the furthest locations and furthest distances from our cities.”

The first lady said the goal was “completely possible and already on its way.”

“Today, nearly 6 billion people, about 70 percent of the planet’s population, have a mobile device and use the Internet,” she said. “If our countries work together, we can bridge the technology gap, enabling everyone to achieve their full potential.”

She continued: “From a reclusive farmer on a remote Greek island to a quiet genius in Somalia or a dreamer in upper Manhattan, anyone can read the vast treasury of human knowledge, created over centuries, now codified and accessible through artificial intelligence.”

The First Lady went on to ask whether the creation of a “single digital nation-state” was inevitable.

Melania Trump attends the world premiere of Amazon MGM’s “Melania” at the Trump Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on January 29. (Taylor Hill/WireImage via Getty Images)

“Maybe this idea is not so far-fetched given that digital currency and blockchain payment systems, as well as the huge real-world database of artificial intelligence are already revolutionizing the media and financial markets,” she said. “We are in the age of imagination – a period when technology can be free and unconstrained by wild borders.”

“Now is the time for our generation to raise our children above ideology through access to wisdom,” she added.

The First Lady said that artificial intelligence is “democratizing knowledge” and creating “a new reality for our children by disrupting the traditional academic path to information.”

“Let us connect everyone to knowledge through artificial intelligence, including those who live in the most remote geographical areas of our world,” she said. “AI can provide us with an understanding of each other’s needs and the needs of your children.”

The First Lady said that artificial intelligence is “redefining who can participate in the global economy of ideas.”

“I believe that our common intellectual future will prove to be a more secure, harmonious and advanced civilization,” she said. “The path to peace depends on us taking responsibility for empowering our children through education and technology.”

The First Lady stressed that “conflict arises from ignorance, but knowledge creates understanding, replacing fear with peace and unity.”

“Members of the Security Council, I encourage you to pledge to protect learning in our societies and promote access to higher education for all,” she said. “I implore you to build a future generation of leaders who embrace peace through education.”

The speech comes as the First Lady continues her efforts as an advocate for protecting children and youth online through the “Be Best” initiative she launched during the first Trump administration.

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In 2025, the First Lady gained support on Capitol Hill to pass the Take it Down Act, which the president signed into law in May 2025. The law punishes Internet abuse involving non-consensual explicit images.

The First Lady also launched the nationwide Presidential AI Challenge, which called on every student and teacher across the country to “unleash their imagination and show the spirit of American innovation” by visiting AI.gov To register.

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