![\"While](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/DSC05124-copy.jpg\" "\\"MAMDANI\u2019S")
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While Mayor Zohran Mamdani marched in Chinatown\u2019s Lunar New Year Parade, hundreds marched uptown in support of the U.S.\/Israeli air strikes in Iran. <\/p>\n
Photo by Dean Moses<\/p>\n
Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 28-March 1, marked the 59th and 60th days of Zohran Mamdani\u2019s term as mayor. amNewYork is following Mamdani around his first 100 days in office<\/a> as we closely track his progress on fulfilling campaign promises, appointing key leaders to government posts, and managing the city\u2019s finances. Here\u2019s a summary of what the mayor did yesterday and today.<\/p>\n Mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n But the weekend of celebrations was overshadowed by the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, which Mamdani strongly condemned as \u201can illegal war of aggression.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The mayor affirmed his solidarity with Iranian-Americans in New York City and wrote in a post on X<\/a> that the attack marks \u201ca catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAmericans 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,\u201d Mamdani wrote.<\/p>\n He also wrote that City Hall and the New York Police Department had begun taking \u201cproactive steps\u201d to protect New Yorkers\u2019 safety following the attacks, \u201cincluding increasing coordination across agencies and enhancing patrols of sensitive locations out of an abundance of caution.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAdditionally, I want to speak directly to Iranian New Yorkers: you are part of the fabric of this city \u2014 you are our neighbors, small business owners, students, artists, workers, and community leaders. You will be safe here,\u201d Mamdani wrote.<\/p>\n Speaking to Pix11 on Saturday<\/a>, Mamdani said that Americans \u201cdo not want another war in pursuit of regime change, we want an answer to the affordability crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI may be a young mayor, but I am old enough to remember the devastating consequences of our country\u2019s pursuit of regime change in the same region not that many years ago,\u201d Mamdani said, referring to the United States\u2019 2003 invasion of Iraq under President George W. Bush.<\/p>\n Iranian state media began reporting on Saturday that Khamenei had been killed in the attack. President Donald Trump, Israel, and Iran all confirmed Khamenei\u2019s killing.<\/p>\n The strikes, and Khamenei\u2019s 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\u2019s killing.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone is terrified for their family. Everyone I\u2019ve 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,\u201d said Etan Mabourakh, national organizing manager for the Natioanl Iranian-American Council. \u201cBut they don\u2019t have faith that U.S. bombs and this Israeli-led attack will deliver that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Mamdani has long been critical of Trump\u2019s foreign policy, condemning in January the U.S. strikes on Venezuela and the detention of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.<\/p>\n New Yorkers take to the streets in protest, celebration On Sunday, several groups celebrated Khamenei\u2019s 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 \u201cwith the brave people of Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n Demonstrators waved American and Iranian flags, expressed support for Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cWe are here to celebrate Khamenei\u2019s death and be Iranian people\u2019s voice \u2026 we are here to celebrate, we are ready for regime change, long live King Reza Pahlavi,\u201d Soudabeh Hasseri, an attendee at the demonstration, said.<\/p>\n Pahlavi<\/a>, the oldest son of Iran\u2019s 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\u2019s new regime.<\/p>\n Attendees condemned the Iranian regime\u2019s reported human rights abuses \u2014 according to a 2024 report from Amnesty International<\/a>, Iranian women, girls, LGBTQ people, and religious and ethnic minorities experience \u201csystemic discrimination and violence\u201d in the country. Iranians and human rights watchdogs have raised alarm<\/a> in recent years over the Iranian government\u2019s \u201csystemic\u201d slaughter of thousands of protesters and increasingly oppressive treatment of the Iranian people.<\/p>\n \u201cThe moment that all Iranians were waiting for happened last night,\u201d one attendee said, thanking Trump for the United States\u2019 intervention.
\n![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pro-iran-march-lloyd-mitchell-03012026-2.jpg\" "\\"MAMDANI\u2019S")
On Sunday, several groups celebrated Khamenei\u2019s 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 \u201cwith the brave people of Iran.\u201dPhoto by Lloyd Mitchell<\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pro-iran-march-lloyd-mitchell-03012026-1.jpg\" "\\"MAMDANI\u2019S")
Demonstrators waved American and Iranian flags, expressed support for Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,\u00a0Photo by Lloyd Mitchell\n<\/p>\n