Masih Alinejad challenges Zohran Mamdani over stance of Hamas

Iranian-American activist Masih Alinejad took mayoral front-runner Zohran Mamdani to task Wednesday for not coming out forcefully enough against Hamas – declaring “We have to protect NY from terrorists.”

Alinejad, who is exiled from Iran, challenged Mamdani to meet with targets of the Iranian-backed terror group as she spoke outside a Manhattan courthouse after two gangsters tied to her planned assassination and backed by Tehran were sentenced to at least 25 years in prison.

“Zohran Mamdani actually said something that he doesn’t want to comment about Hamas,” Alinejad said emphatically with the general election next Tuesday and early voting already underway.  

“So I have comment, and I welcome him to make a meeting with me, women of the Middle East, people of Palestine being the target of Hamas.

“So if we want to protect New Yorkers, we should be tough when it comes to Hamas and their sponsors, which is the Islamic Republic.”

The avowed socialist, who is the Democratic nominee, has faced backlash after he refused to say Hamas should surrender its weapons.

“I don’t really have opinions about the future of Hamas and Israel beyond the question of justice and safety, and the fact that anything has to abide by international law,” he claimed on Fox News this month despite repeatedly weighing in on the conflict in Gaza.

That stance didn’t cut it for Alinejad, an 49-year-old outspoken critic of Tehran and how its leaders treat women, which has long been a backer of Hamas in its war against the Jewish state.

“We all love New York so we have to protect NY from terrorists,” she said.

“So that’s why I wanted to share my comment with Zohran Mamdani and everyone who wants to be the mayor of New York, they have to protect NY from all the terrorist organizations and their sponsor which is the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Before her courthouse comments, she tweeted a similar challenge to Mamdani online.

Rafat Amirov, 46, and Polad Omarov, 41, were convicted in March of taking $500,000 from the Iranian government before sending a self-professed member of the Russian mob to kill Alinejad at her Brooklyn home in the foiled 2022 plot.

They were sentenced to 25 years to life Wednesday by a federal judge.

While Mamdani took a hands-off approach to Hamas’ future in Gaza earlier this month, he’s repeatedly assailed the organization for committing war crimes during its Oct. 7, 2023 attack. 

An email to the Mamdani campaign was not immediately returned.

Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy.