Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor who is a frequent critic of the Jewish state, decried what he said was a “catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression” on Saturday.
The U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran bombed cities, killed civilians and opened “a new theater of war,” Mamdani said. “Americans do not want this. They do not want another war in pursuit of regime change. They want relief from the affordability crisis. They want peace.”
The mayor directed his comments to Iranian New Yorkers as well. “You are part of the fabric of this city,” he said. “You are our neighbors, small-business owners, students, artists, workers and community leaders. You will be safe here.”
Many Iranian Americans have thanked Washington and Jerusalem for killing the regime’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and striking regime targets.
Mamdani was one of several U.S. officials who denounced the attacks. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said that the “Trump-Netanyahu war is unconstitutional and violates international law” and “endangers the lives of U.S. troops and people across the region.”
“We’ve lived through the lies of Vietnam and Iraq,” the senator said. “No more endless wars. Congress must pass a war powers resolution immediately.”
Karen Bass, the Los Angeles mayor, stated that “we understand that many Angelenos are affected and deeply concerned, and encourage everyone to voice their views in a peaceful way.”
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, stated that “the Trump administration’s strikes against Iran represent a reckless abuse of the president’s power, threatening to pull the United States into yet another open-ended Middle East war without clear justifications or a defined strategic end state.”
“Congress was not consulted, nor was it given the opportunity to authorize the use of force,” he stated. “This is an unacceptable breach of its constitutional role.”
“The administration owes Congress and the American people a direct accounting: What is the threat, what are the objectives, what is the exit strategy, and what will it cost?” Meeks said. “Instead, we are seeing evasion at a moment that demands transparency.”
Many other U.S. lawmakers, including Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), supported the attacks.
“Today, the United States, with our key democratic ally Israel, took decisive action to defend our national security, fight terror, protect our allies and stand with the Iranian people, who have been massacred in the streets for demanding freedom from the murderous Iranian regime,” the congressman said.
“Let me be clear: Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism and poses an existential threat to America,” he added. “Tehran has armed, funded and directed terrorist proxies responsible for killing Americans and attacking our service members, military bases and ships. That includes its backing of Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack.”
