New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani would not directly answer when asked whether Iran is better off without the former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Tuesday.

“I’ve said before that the Iranian government has engaged in systematic repression of its own people, even killing thousands of Iranians who were seeking to express the most basic forms of dissent earlier this year. It is a brutal government,” he said.

“I’ve also said that while I may be a young mayor, I am old enough to remember the devastating consequences of our country pursuing a war with the intent of regime change in that very same region not that many years ago,” he added, sidestepping the question.

The mayor was also asked about pushback from Jewish and Iranian Americans concerned about his biting criticism of the U.S. strikes against Iran. He said that while he weighs in with his opinion on geopolitics, his primary responsibility is to protect the city of New York.

“What I would say to Jewish New Yorkers, to Iranian American New Yorkers, to any New Yorker, frankly, is that my primary responsibility is to keep you safe,” he said. “As much as I have shared my thoughts when I’ve been asked about the federal government’s actions as well as the actions of the Israeli military, I’ve also focused my time and efforts in being in constant communication with our police commissioner, as well as emergency management officials.”

He pointed to the fact that police presence was heightened at “sensitive locations across the city out of an abundance of caution.”

He also said that as Muslims and Jews celebrate Ramadan and Purim, respectively, their anxiety about practicing their faith safely has increased.

“This is also a time when there is a sense of anxiety about whether New Yorkers can celebrate themselves, their faiths in a moment of such anxiety and tumult across the world,” he said. “We are taking the steps to ensure that our police officers are present” and “visible and reassuring New Yorkers that they do not need to sacrifice an ounce of themselves to be safe in this city.”

“They can be the fullest versions of themselves, and I’m thankful of the work of the men and women of the NYPD in making that the case,” he concluded.