Mamdani criticizes Iranian regime’s ‘brutal government’ while still condemning U.S. and Israeli attacks

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani continued to condemn the U.S. and Israel’s military strikes on Iran Tuesday, while acknowledging the brutality of the Iranian government's regime after initially declining to do so.  

With conflict ramping up in the Middle East after the U.S. and Israeli governments’ initial attack killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, attention has mounted on how Mamdani will handle the spiraling international conflict as mayor of the country’s largest city. His statement on social media Saturday was a sharp rebuke against the Trump administration’s unilateral military action – coupled with assurances that his personal priority is keeping New Yorkers safe. A few days later, Mamdani expanded upon his initial remarks by also directly condemning the Iranian government. 

Asked whether he thinks Iran is better off without the supreme leader at an unrelated child care announcement in Hamilton Heights Tuesday, Mamdani responded with nuance, albeit without answering the question directly. 

“The Iranian government has engaged in systematic repression of its own people, even killing thousands of Iranians who were seeking to express the most basic forms of dissent earlier this year. It is a brutal government,” Mamdani said. “I’ve also said that while I may be a young mayor, I am old enough to remember the devastating consequences of our country pursuing a war with the intent of regime change in that very same region not that many years ago.”

Mamdani, a democratic socialist, is among a number of left-leaning Democrats who’ve forcefully condemned the Trump administration over the military strikes – aligning with the left’s ardent opposition to foreign intervention in the Middle East. Those concerns are only further underscored by existing tensions within the Democratic Party around the Israeli military’s actions against Palestinians in Gaza. Mamdani’s comments Tuesday brought him more in line with more moderate New York Democrats like Gov. Kathy Hochul, who have criticized the Trump administration for striking Iran without congressional approval, but at the same time, also largely highlighted Iran’s authoritarian regime. 

Some critics have attacked the mayor over his initial response, including former Mayor Eric Adams, who has repeatedly emphasized the violence the Iranian regime wrought on its citizens. “If you are running interference for that regime, you are not ‘anti-war.’ You are morally hollow. You are choosing tyrants over victims,” Adams wrote on X, quote tweeting over Mamdani’s initial statement. “New Yorkers stand proudly and unapologetically with the men and women confronting this evil, defending our country and the entire free world.”

Mamdani again emphasized that his primary responsibility is to keep New Yorkers safe while addressing the backlash Tuesday. “In as much as I’ve shared my thoughts when asked about the federal government’s actions as well as the actions of the Israeli military, I’ve also focused my time and efforts in being in constant communication with our police commissioner as well as emergency management officials," he said. 

City & State reported Monday that the Trump administration has yet to grant Mamdani a top level security clearance two months into his tenure. A spokesperson for the mayor’s office said that this timeline isn’t atypical and that senior officials within the Mamdani administration do have federal security clearance and have been able to brief the mayor. 

Mamdani said he hasn’t spoken to Trump since the two men met at the Oval Office for a second time last week – before the U.S. and Israeli governments began attacking Iran. It’s unclear at this point whether the mayor’s condemnation of the federal government could put a strain on his unexpectedly amicable relationship with the president.