Masih Alinejad, an Iranian-American journalist and a vocal critic of the Iranian regime, lashed out at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Saturday for his public criticism of U.S. and Israeli military strikes against Iran. She urged him to “STOP lecturing us Iranians about peace.”
The airstrikes, launched over the weekend, targeted several high-ranking Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed during the operation. While many Iranian dissidents celebrated this significant development, Mamdani took to social media to express his sorrow over the events.
“Today’s military strikes on Iran — carried out by the United States and Israel — mark a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression. Bombing cities. Killing civilians,” the socialist mayor, who is Muslim, complained.
“Opening a new theater of war. 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 said.
Alinejad, who was the target of an ultimately unrealized Iranian assassination plot in 2024, took to the X platform to rip Mamdani’s criticism.
“To you, Zohran Mamdani! You stayed quiet when we have faced massacre, when Islamic Republic assassins were sent here in New York to kill us, stay quiet now! STOP lecturing us Iranians about peace,” she wrote, addressing his remarks about safety” in the city and adding “safety without justice” is meaningless.
“We Iranians do not allow you to lecture us about war while you had nothing to say when the Islamic Republic shot schoolgirls and blinded more than 10,000 innocent people in the streets. You were busy celebrating the hijab while women of my beloved country Iran were jailed and raped by Islamic Security forces for removing it. And NOW you find your voice to defend the regime? No. I will not let you claim the moral high ground,” she continued.
“I don’t feel safe in New York listening to someone like you, Mamdani, who sympathizes with the regime that killed more than 30,000 unarmed Iranians in less than 24 hours,” she wrote. “The people of Iran want to be free. Where were you when they needed solidarity? New York belongs to people who stand against terrorism not those who excuse it.”
She also blasted Mamdani during an interview with CBS News:
Alinejad spoke to CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday alongside Moj Mahdara, an Iranian-American entrepreneur and co-founder of the Iranian Diaspora Collective. Mahdara delivered a message to the Democrat Party most didn’t want to hear.
“I think that it is imperative the Democratic Party wake up and get past their dislike of Donald Trump, President Trump, and their feelings of international conflicts going on. This is about national security. This is about what is possible in the Middle East. This is about being a good neighbor, good partner to the Gulf States and what their aspirations are,” she said.
A senior White House official stated on Sunday that Iran’s “new potential leadership” has indicated a willingness to engage in talks with the United States. This announcement follows a significant military operation by American and Israeli forces, which resulted in the deaths of Iran’s supreme leader and several high-ranking officials, according to Fox News.
The official, who requested anonymity to discuss internal administration matters, mentioned that President Donald Trump is “eventually” open to negotiations, but for the time being, the military operation “continues unabated.” The official did not specify who the potential new leaders of Iran are or how they expressed their willingness to negotiate.