No, Emmanuel Macron did not share a (fake) photo of Melania Trump with Jeffrey Epstein

A signed French national team basketball jersey was among the gifts France’s president Emmanuel Macron bestowed upon Pope Leo XIV as he met the pontiff for the first time at the Vatican on Thursday. The two leaders were expected to discuss the conflict in  the Middle East during their meeting, while Macron was also expected to invite Leo to visit France.

First lady Melania Trump denied she had any relationship with Jeffrey Epstein in an extraordinary address from the White House on Thursday and dismissed online speculation that the disgraced financier and sex offender introduced her to Donald Trump. “I have never been friends with Epstein,” she said.

Nadia Massih is pleased to welcome Dr. Randa Slim, Director of the Conflict Resolution and Track II Dialogues Program at the Middle East Institute and Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). According to Dr. Slim, Israeli strikes on Lebanon cannot be credibly framed as targeted operations against Hezbollah, but rather indiscriminate violence causing widespread civilian casualties and intensifying regional tensions. S

As the US and Iran gear up for high-stakes talks, the bigger question is whether Tehran can hold the line amid signs of fractures within the regime.