Mamdani Slams US-Israel Strikes On Iran, Some New Yorkers Say "World Is Safer"

Global reactions poured in following the assassination of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a joint military attack by the United States and Israel. Protesters, including those in India, chanted anti-Israel and anti-US slogans while holding Iranian flags and Khamenei posters.

In New York, however, opinions were divided. Some Iranian-Americans celebrated, others said they were afraid and anxious, thinking about what would happen to Iran and the rest of the world.

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the strike, calling it a "catastrophic escalation in an illegal act of war of aggression". The mayor, a Democrat, said that most Americans did not want another war, adding that they cared about peace.

"They do not want another war in pursuit of regime change. They want relief from the affordability crisis. They want peace," he added, according to The NY Times.

Brad Lander, a former New York City comptroller now running for Congress, also criticised the unilateral declaration of war. Calling it "illegal", he claimed that the president's goal was to distract people from problems at home by focusing on a war.

Dan Goldman, a Democratic Congressman from New York, though, called Iran a "treacherous regime" but warned that removing dictators in the Middle East in the name of "regime change" often led to endless wars.

However, for some, the attack brought a sense of hope and relief.

One supporter of the attack said, "The world is safer today because the US & Israel eliminated a top sponsor of GLOBAL TERRORISM."

At Colbeh, a Persian restaurant in Great Neck, the response to the news of Iran's supreme leader's death was one of celebration for some in the Iranian-American community. 

Pejman Touby, the executive director of the restaurant, said that he and about 30 of his employees drank shots of tequila early Sunday morning to celebrate the news. 

According to Al Jazeera, at least 555 people have been killed across Iran in joint US-Israeli attacks on 131 counties so far.