U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz sharply rejected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s pledge to seek the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his expected visit to the U.N. General Assembly in September, calling the threat “pure political theater.”

Responding to Mamdani’s remarks that he is exploring legal options to arrest Netanyahu based on an International Criminal Court warrant, Waltz said the effort has no legal basis. He noted that the United States is not a party to the ICC’s Rome Statute, that visiting heads of government are protected by diplomatic immunity under the U.N. Headquarters Agreement, and that federal authority overrides any action a local mayor might seek to take.

Israel’s Ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon, also condemned Mamdani’s comments, accusing the mayor of focusing on Israel instead of addressing antisemitism and public safety in New York City.

Netanyahu is expected to travel to New York in September to address the U.N. General Assembly.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)