MAMDANI’S FIRST 100 DAYS: Mayor condemns U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran as protests and celebrations erupt across city

Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 28-March 1, marked the 59th and 60th days of Zohran Mamdani’s term as mayor. amNewYork is following Mamdani around his first 100 days in office as we closely track his progress on fulfilling campaign promises, appointing key leaders to government posts, and managing the city’s finances. Here’s a summary of what the mayor did yesterday and today.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani maintained a light schedule this weekend, visiting with nurses on Saturday as they celebrated the end of their long strike with a trip to the bowling alley, and marching in the Lunar New Year Parade in Chinatown on Sunday.

But the weekend of celebrations was overshadowed by the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, which Mamdani strongly condemned as “an illegal war of aggression.”

The strikes began on Feb. 28 and resulted in retaliatory air strikes from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard amid the reported death of the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled the nation for 37 years. More than 200 people have died in Iran due to the strikes, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society.

The mayor affirmed his solidarity with Iranian-Americans in New York City and wrote in a post on X that the attack marks “a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression.”

“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,” Mamdani wrote.

He also wrote that City Hall and the New York Police Department had begun taking “proactive steps” to protect New Yorkers’ safety following the attacks, “including increasing coordination across agencies and enhancing patrols of sensitive locations out of an abundance of caution.”

“Additionally, I want to speak directly to Iranian New Yorkers: you are part of the fabric of this city — you are our neighbors, small business owners, students, artists, workers, and community leaders. You will be safe here,” Mamdani wrote.

Speaking to Pix11 on Saturday, Mamdani said that Americans “do not want another war in pursuit of regime change, we want an answer to the affordability crisis.”

“I may be a young mayor, but I am old enough to remember the devastating consequences of our country’s pursuit of regime change in the same region not that many years ago,” Mamdani said, referring to the United States’ 2003 invasion of Iraq under President George W. Bush.

Iranian state media began reporting on Saturday that Khamenei had been killed in the attack. President Donald Trump, Israel, and Iran all confirmed Khamenei’s killing.

The strikes, and Khamenei’s death, set off protests and celebratory rallies across New York City on Saturday and Sunday, with thousands of New Yorkers taking to the streets to voice their opposition to the attacks and attempted regime change. Several opposition groups to the Islamic Republic took to the streets on Sunday to celebrate Khamenei’s killing.

“Everyone is terrified for their family. Everyone I’ve spoken to does not support the Iranian government, and they want a better future for their family, they want freedom and democracy and human rights and a real economic situation where people can afford to live,” said Etan Mabourakh, national organizing manager for the Natioanl Iranian-American Council. “But they don’t have faith that U.S. bombs and this Israeli-led attack will deliver that.”

Mamdani has long been critical of Trump’s foreign policy, condemning in January the U.S. strikes on Venezuela and the detention of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

New Yorkers take to the streets in protest, celebration

On Sunday, several groups celebrated Khamenei’s death and supported the U.S.-Israeli attempt at regime change in the country. A coalition of pro-Israel groups marched from the United Nations headquarters in Midtown East to Times Square on Sunday in celebration “with the brave people of Iran.”Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

On Sunday, several groups celebrated Khamenei’s death and supported the U.S.-Israeli attempt at regime change in the country. A coalition of pro-Israel groups marched from the United Nations headquarters in Midtown East to Times Square on Sunday in celebration “with the brave people of Iran.”

Demonstrators waved American and Iranian flags, expressed support for Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,

“We are here to celebrate Khamenei’s death and be Iranian people’s voice … we are here to celebrate, we are ready for regime change, long live King Reza Pahlavi,” Soudabeh Hasseri, an attendee at the demonstration, said.

Pahlavi, the oldest son of Iran’s last shah and a longtime political activist, is currently living in exile in the U.S. He is supportive of Trump and argues that he is the best leader to return and lead Iran’s new regime.

Attendees condemned the Iranian regime’s reported human rights abuses — according to a 2024 report from Amnesty International, Iranian women, girls, LGBTQ people, and religious and ethnic minorities experience “systemic discrimination and violence” in the country. Iranians and human rights watchdogs have raised alarm in recent years over the Iranian government’s “systemic” slaughter of thousands of protesters and increasingly oppressive treatment of the Iranian people.

“The moment that all Iranians were waiting for happened last night,” one attendee said, thanking Trump for the United States’ intervention.

Demonstrators waved American and Iranian flags, expressed support for Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

Hundreds of New Yorkers marched through Midtown Manhattan on Saturday to protest the attacks, chanting for the end of the U.S.’s intervention in the region and for “hands off Iran.” The group was largely made up of anti-war, socialist, and pro-Palestinian groups organized by the People’s Forum and the ANSWER Coalition.

The city is bracing for continued protest activity as the United States and Israel continue attacks and Iran retaliates with strikes on Israel and U.S. military bases in the region.

Notify NYC advised New Yorkers to be wary of traffic delays and increased emergency personnel near Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan.