Updated

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani declined to say whether the New York Police Department would go ahead with a planned training programme in Israel, saying the decision rested with the city council as an independent body, according to a report published on 13 August 2026. The question follows earlier controversy over footage from last year in which he blamed Israel for police violence in New York. The exchange is part of continuing scrutiny of the mayor's positions on Israel and on municipal ties with Israeli institutions. The story concerns US municipal politics rather than Iran's nuclear file, sanctions or direct Iran-Israel exchanges, and its relevance to the Iran theatre is marginal.