Trump Responds to Talk of Netanyahu's Arrest in New York

Washington (ANTARA) – US President Donald Trump has affirmed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces no risk of being arrested by law enforcement whenever he decides to visit the United States.

Trump issued the statement after New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, in an interview with The New York Times on Saturday (18 July), described Netanyahu as a war criminal who ‘should be in The Hague’.

Mamdani also stated that he would comply with the laws applicable in New York City. He said discussions were currently under way regarding the authority held by the city government under local regulations concerning his pledge to detain Netanyahu should the Israeli leader come to New York.

‘Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any shape or form, while he is in the United States,’ Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform.

Trump added that Netanyahu was fighting against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The US president also stressed that it was Iran’s leaders who should be imprisoned, claiming they had led the country into a ‘spiral of death and destruction unprecedented in history’.

‘That should have been dealt with years ago by previous presidents,’ Trump continued.

In September 2025, ahead of the 80th UN General Assembly, Mamdani, who was then still a mayoral candidate, declared that he would issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu if he were elected mayor of New York and Netanyahu came to the city.