Mayor Mamdani denounced President Trump’s massive bombardment of Iran on Saturday, calling it “a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression,” as other local elected officials demanded answers.
“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,” he wrote in the statement on X.
The mayor, who had what he called a “productive” meeting with Trump at the White House on Thursday, where he pitched to build 12,000 housing units in New York City, did not directly name the president in his remarks on Saturday.
“I am focused on making sure that every New Yorker is safe,” Mamdani continued. “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.”
Scores of protesters gathered in Times Square on Saturday afternoon to rally against the strikes, accusing the president of being a rogue actor who has put soldiers’ lives on the line for no reason.
“The U.S. and Israel are carrying out an unprovoked, illegal bombing campaign on Iran,” rally organizers with The People’s Forum wrote in a statement. “This war seves no one but a tiny elite and oil executives.”
A sea of rallygoers, holding signs, including two that read, “TRUMP MUST GO NOW!” and “NO NEW US WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST,” chanted, “Stop war on Iran now! We want justice! You say, How? Hands off Iran now!” in a video the group posted to Instagram.
In a video message posted early Saturday morning, Trump announced the “United States military began major combat operations in Iran” in what he called “Operation Epic Fury.”
The president warned that “lives of courageous American heroes may be lost” in the ensuing conflict, which began with bombing raids on Iran’s capital around the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
People protest against U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, in New York, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Kena Betancur)
People gather to protest against U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, in New York, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Kena Betancur)
People protest against U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, in New York, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Kena Betancur)
People hoist signs during a “Stop the War on Iran” protest in Times Square in New York City on February 28, 2026. (Photo by Leonardo MUNOZ / AFP via Getty Images)
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People protest against U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, in New York, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Kena Betancur)
Israeli officials told the Associated Press that Khamenei was killed in the strikes, along with Iran’s defense minister, Amir Nasirzadeh, and commander of its Revolutionary Guard, Mohammed Pakpour.
In a brief phone interview with NBC News, U.S. President Donald Trump was asked about reports that Khamenei was killed in airstrikes.
Trump responded: “We feel that that is a correct story.”
He also said “most” of Iran’s senior leadership is “gone,” including many people who make decisions.
In response to the bombardment, the NYPD has sent additional officers to “sensitive locations” throughout the city, in case the military action in the Middle East creates reprisals here at home.
So far, there are no credible threats to New York, according to Gov. Hochul, though she too increased police presence at statewide religious, cultural and diplomatic sites.
Ray Alvarez, beloved owner of Ray’s Candy store in the East Village, who is originally from Iran, said he opposes the attacks.
“I was watching all morning (on TV),” Alvarez, 93, said on Saturday. “Ugly, very bad. It’s for Israel, you know.”
Alvarez, who is of Turkish descent, said he jumped ship in Virginia while serving in the Iranian Navy more than 50 years ago, eventually making his way to New York City.
“I run away. I don’t want no part of it,” he said of the Iranian regime.
Local elected officials bashed Trump’s decision on Saturday, claiming that Trump went too war without congressional approval.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn) vowed to push for a vote in D.C. that would remove U.S. soldiers from Iran once Congress is back in session.
A damaged car remains on the ground in the aftermath of an Israeli-U.S. strike in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Amir Kholousi/ISNA)
“The Trump administration must explain itself to the American people and Congress immediately, provide an ironclad justification for this act of war, clearly define the national security objective and articulate a plan to avoid another costly, prolonged military quagmire in the Middle East,” the Democratic leader said in a statement.
“Iran is a bad actor and must be aggressively confronted for its human rights violations, nuclear ambitions, support of terrorism and the threat it poses to our allies like Israel and Jordan in the region,” he added. “However, absent exigent circumstances, the Trump administration must seek authorization for the preemptive use of military force that constitutes an act of war.”
Sen. Chuck Schumer said that neither he nor any other members of Congress had been given any “critical detail about the scope and immediacy of the threat” in Iran.
In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a meeting in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 23, 2024. . (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
“When I talked to Secretary Rubio, I implored him to be straight with Congress and the American people about the objectives of these strikes and what comes next,” Schumer said Saturday. “Iran must never be allowed to attain a nuclear weapon, but the American people do not want another endless and costly war in the Middle East when there are so many problems at home.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez demanded that Trump “stop lying to the American people.”
“Just this week, Iran and the United States were negotiating key measures that could have staved off war. The President walked away from these discussions and chose war instead,” she wrote in a statement. “Mr. President: this was not an inevitability. This is a deliberate choice of aggression when diplomacy and security were within reach.”
With Associated Press