NYC mayor Mamdani says Iran war 'should be opposed' on all grounds

New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani has again slammed the US and Israeli-led war in Iran, highlighting the economic impact the conflict is having on Americans.

Mamdani, who has served as mayor since January, said the war on Iran should be "opposed on every single ground", in an interview with political commentator and podcaster Bryan Tyler Cohen on Tuesday.

The mayor criticised the financial cost of the war, as well as the possibility that the Republican Party could slash healthcare funds to finance the assault, at a time when the US is facing a cost-of-living and affordability crisis. New York, where Mamadani holds office, is ranked among the most expensive cities in the world.

"I think we're seeing the fact that in the face of Americans facing a historic affordability crisis, we have the pursuit of something that has already cost $23 billion thus far — the kind of money that could transform working-class Americans’ lives," he said, pointing to potential investments in health care, education, and student debt relief.

"And all of that being thrown aside for the pursuit of yet another regime change war," he added.

The US assault on Iran is reportedly costing around $1 billion a day, and the White House said it was seeking over $200 billion needed to "replenish" munitions and other depleted supplies used in the war.

Mamdani also pointed to the significant hike in oil and energy prices caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran in retaliation for the US and Israeli aggression, which is "making it harder for working-class Americans to meet daily needs".

The mayor said that while speaking to New Yorkers irrespective of their political affiliation, the vast majority have voiced opposition to the assault, and said that he recalls, despite his age, the "disastrous consequences of regime change wars".

The US and Israel launched a series of strikes on Iran on 28 February, targeting leading figures within the Iranian political regime, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the strikes.

Since then, both have led strikes against military, power, and civilian infrastructure, which have killed between 2,000-3,492 people, though the actual death toll is likely higher.

Trump has often spoken of trying to reach a deal to end the war with Iran, which Tehran has so far rejected.

The war has expanded into Lebanon, Iraq, and the Gulf Arab states. Over 1,200 people have been killed in Lebanon by an intensification of Israeli strikes, while Gulf states have been subjected to Iranian attacks on infrastructure, which Tehran says is in retaliation for the US’s actions.

Earlier in February, Mamdani denounced the US and Israel’s assault, calling it "a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression".

"Bombing cities. Killing civilians. Opening a new theater of war," Mamdani wrote in a post on X.

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’s public condemnation of the attacks on Iran, the most direct by a US politician, subjected him to criticism from US political circles, going as far as accusing him of "siding" with Iran over the US.